The Uzumaki Heir
by Odin999
Summary: What if at birth Naruto was given what rightfully belonged to him. how would this change his life? Smarter/stronger Naruto. Slight AU
1. Chapter 1

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

"**Demon"**

"**Jutsu/Techniques"**

"_Writings"_

**Hey everybody, first I would like to say that sadly I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form. Second this story will follow the storyline somewhat but I will be changing a few things. Don't like it don't read it. Finally I welcome reviews and criticism but please don't flame, you will just be ignored. Now without further ado enjoy my story. **

**======== Konohagakure, Morning after the Kyubi attack ===========**

Hiruzen Sarutobi, third Hokage of Konoha, was not having a good morning. He sighed as he looked out of his office window at the wreckage caused by the Kyubi last night. The beast had caused massive amounts of damage and killed many of their shinobi and civilians that were not able to get to the shelters fast enough. He rubbed the temples of his head and turned back to the office, it had been years since he last looked at the office from that side of the desk.

He had given his hat over to Minato Namikaze years ago and had been proud of the man. T was with a heavy heart he was here today, Minato had given his life last night to seal away the Kyubi within a powerful seal. While his sacrifice helped keep many from dying and possibly saved the village he left a large problem.

A soft giggle turned Hiruzen attention to the far corner of the room. A small white cradle was placed there, inside was a small blonde haired child. His body wiggled out of the blanket he was wrapped in and smile went across Hiruzen face when the child opened his crystal blue eyes to look at him. This child was Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, and also the holder of the Kyubi. To defeat the beast Minato had to seal it inside of someone and being the man of honor he was could not ask anyone else to do it. With a heavy heart he had chosen to seal the beast inside his newborn son.

Hiruzen closed his eyes and shook his head to clear his thoughts. Last night he had told the council what had happened and he was not happy with the reactions. Minato, in his final moments, had wished the child to be seen as a hero most of the civilians wanted the child dead to finish off the beast. The shinobi side of the council had been quiet and Hiruzen had only stayed for a minute telling them they would resume the meeting in the morning after everyone had calmed down.

A knock on his door broke him from his musings

"Yes?" the door opened and reviled an ANBU dressed in all black, grey armor could be seen behind the black cloak draped over their body. The figure was around 5'10 and their face hidden behind a white mask representing a dog, silver hair peaked out above the mask.

"Hokage-sama the council has been gathered like you asked and are waiting for you" Hiruzen nodded and started towards the door

"Thank you Inu, would you please stay here and watch young Naruto while I'm gone?" the ANBU shinobi nodded quickly

"Hai Hokage-sama" the old Hokage nodded back and walked down the halls of the Hokage tower towards the council chambers. Once he entered he looked around the room. The room had two long tables on either side of it, one for the Shinobi council the other for the Civilian council. At the ends of the aisle created by the tables was his desk and across from that was a small table where the three elders sat.

Everyone bowed their heads when Hiruzen walked in; giving them a quick nod he walked to his desk and sat down. He reached into his robes to pull his pipe from the folds. Packing in some tobacco and lighting it he took a long drag before facing the councils

"I hope everyone here has had a chance to calm down from last night" he looked around the room and noticed the scowls on the civilians face, no doubt still angry. The shinobi were all calm, many had been part of the last war and were used to losing others through violence while they may be sad they all knew they had to keep calm about the situation. The elders were also calm; the trio were all ex-teammates of Hiruzen's and had been through more trouble than this attack.

"Good, now I'm sure you all have thought about our situation and I am willing to listen to any thoughts. Who would like to begin?" an explosion of screams came from the civilian side of the room, all about how they should kill Young Naruto. Hiruzen stared the group down and let his killing intent flood the room, quickly the councilman and women sat down. Most of them sere sweating heavily and paled when they felt the man's gaze on them.

"I am going to say this once and only once, we will not kill the boy. Minato gave his life to seal the beast and his last wish was for this boy to be seen as a hero. You may not wish to honor my late successor but I will" many people looked down at that last part of his comment but the civilians did not back down. A slim balding man stood up

"Hokage-sama how can we let that demon live among us?" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at the man

"I believe I mentioned yesterday that no one is to speak of the Kyubi, whether in council or not. Calling him a demon falls under that rule councilman." the man paled and quickly bowed

"I am sorry Hokage-sama please forgive me, it was a slip of the tongue" he gave the man a grunt and took another drag of his pipe

"This time I will but I warn you all, I will not be tolerating such talk again." He watched as all the council nodded in understanding and continued

"As I was saying Minato wanted the boy to grow and eventually the seal he placed on him will absorb the Kyubi's power thus killing it. Killing the boy will only free the beast and eventually it will reform and attack us again" whispered spread around the room at the information, in truth the seal made it so that in Naruto died he would drag the Kyubi to the afterlife with him but Hiruzen figured it wouldn't hurt to keep that a secret.

"So what will happen to the boy?" Hiruzen turned to the speaker, Tsume Inuzuka head of the Inuzuka clan

"He will be turned over to the orphanage and raised just as any orphan would" the woman nodded slightly at the answer but he could see the disagreement in her eyes. He too knew that from the civilians actions Naruto would have a hard life but he hoped after some time it would pass.

"Excuse me Hiruzen" the Hokage looked up and across the room to the elders to see Danzo raising his only good arm. Danzo and Hiruzen rarely got along, both wanted what was best for the village but had different ideas on how to achieve this. Danzo viewed military superiority and fear the best was to make Konoha the best. While Hiruzen agreed with some of Danzo's ideas the two often butt heads.

"Yes Danzo do you have a problem with that?" Hiruzen had an idea of what Danzo would want. Naruto was housing the most powerful of the tailed beasts and if he knew Danzo he would want the boy to train him to become an emotionless killing machine.

"Actually yes, I was wondering why we would deny the boy his heritage." The entire room went silent and if Hiruzen hadn't been prepared his pipe might have fallen right from his mouth. He stared Danzo down, trying to figure out where Danzo could be going with this and he was curious about how Danzo knew of the boy's family. Before he could start to speak Shikaku Nara cut in

"I'm sorry Danzo-san but we are all under the impression that Naruto was an orphan" many in the room nodded to that, Danzo just cleared his throat

"I never said the boy was not an orphan, merely that he had a heritage. Hiruzen you did say last night the boy was an Uzumaki did you not?" everyone turned to Hiruzen, who was taking a drag of his pipe. He had calmed down when he realized Danzo was talking about Naruto's mother not his father. He still wondered what Danzo's plan was but he would let this conversation go on for now. If it went well he could improve Naruto's life greatly

"Yes I did"

"Then why is he not being named clan Heir? The Uzumaki are a very powerful clan and important to Konoha. I see it as a slight to our friendship with them to dishonor a child from them" whisper's spread around the room and a civilian woman with long brown hair spoke up

"Excuse me Danzo-san but I have never heard of the Uzumaki clan. If there so important why do none of us know of them" many of the other civilians nodded along to this but Hiruzen decided to step in

"The Uzumaki clan were the founders of Uzushiogakure, a village that unfortunately was destroyed many years ago in the second shinobi war. We had been in an alliance with them since the founding of our village, in fact the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was married to an Uzumaki" Hiruzen watched as the civilians looked shocked at that piece of information

"The clan was well known for their skills in Fuinjutsu and Kenjutsu. In fact Minato, my student Jiraiya and myself all learned most of our fuinjutsu skills from Uzumaki scrolls."

"If what you say is true does that mean the boy is related to Tsunade Senju seeing that her grandmother was an Uzumaki" the room turned their attention to Choza Akimichi

"To answer both of your questions I only know his name from Minato I have nothing to prove he is an actual Uzumaki" Danzo nodded

"Understandable but I have an idea that may prove the boy is an Uzumaki and if so I think we should give him all the rights of a clan heir." Hiruzen analyzed Danzo carefully, he still couldn't figure out what Danzo would get from all of this. If Naruto was named a clan heir he would be under the shinobi council and Danzo had no power or influence there

"Why should we even check Danzo-san, giving that boy a clan will only give him more power and allow the demon to kill us easier" a portly council man slammed his hand to the table to emphasis his point but Danzo didn't flinch as he answered

"Before Uzushiogakure fell they asked Mito-sama to hold many of their scrolls. Those scrolls most likely contain the knowledge of the clan and can only be given to an Uzumaki. If the boy is named heir he will be given all of the scrolls and it will greatly improve Konoha in many ways" Hiruzen rubbed his chin as Danzo finished. The man made strong points but he suspected there was another reason Danzo was doing this.

"You make good points Danzo, so what is this way you thought of" the room's attention turned to Danzo as he cleared his throat.

"As I said Mito-sama was in possession of clan scrolls, I assume that since the clan was so well known for their skill in fuinjutsu all of the scrolls are sealed with blood seals. We simply place some of the boy's blood on a scroll and if it opens there is no question about his heritage" Hiruzen took another drag of his pipe and thought out Danzo's idea. It had merit and it would prove to everyone Naruto was an Uzumaki without him having to revel who Naruto's parents were

"I am curious as to everyone else's view on this idea. By show of hands who thinks we should go along with Danzo's idea?" he watched as all of the clan heads and elders raised their hands. He mentally smirked at that knowing the motion had passed

"All those against?" the civilians grumbled as they raised their hands

"Very well, I and the elders will go and retrieve a scroll from the Hokage vault. I will call all of you once we have found one and we will see if young Naruto's blood works. If so I will notify Tsunade but knowing her I doubt she will come back to help raise the boy" many nodded sadly at that but Inoichi Yamanaka, head of the Yamanaka clan raised his hand

"Excuse me Hokage but why the vault? If it was Mito-sama's then would they not be at the Senju compound?" Hiruzen had begun to clean out his pipe but looked up to Inoichi

"When Tsunade left the village I sealed all of the clan's scrolls in the Hokage vault for safe keeping, if she was to return I would hand all of it back to her of course" he nodded and stood to leave with the rest of the council. Once the room was empty, save for the elders and Hiruzen, he stood and motioned for them to follow him.

The small group walked down the hall to a set of stairs and began to travel down. After going down several flights they came to a door with two ANBU guarding it both of their mask resembling birds but different paint lines on them. The shinobi immediately put the hands forward in a cross shape

"Kai" after nothing happened one of the ANBU turned and opened the door behind him. Hiruzen lead the group down a dark hallway until they came to a massive set of steel doors. They were eight foot tall and both looked to be four feet wide, the doors were decorated with what appeared to be vines across them.

"All of you are to turn around and not look at me while I open the doors. If I even think you are peeking I will be forced to kill you immediately" the trio turned around, none of them even flinched at the thought of death

Satisfied they were not looking Hiruzen turned back to the door and channeled chakra to his hands. He then reached up and began touching specific vines. As he touched them they glowed green, eventually all of the vines were glowing and the doors started to open inward.

"You may turn around now" the others turned and all of their eyes widened at the sight before them. The room was a large metal box that went farther back then they could see, the only light in the room was from glowing seals all along the ceiling. The three quickly followed after Hiruzen as he made his way down the aisle of book cases. Their eyes wondered across the shelves as they passed, plaques were placed on each shelf with different labels to let people know what they contained.

Soon they came to the back of the room and they looked to see tall safes lining the back. Hiruzen walked over to one and began to twirl the dial on it. After a second he opened the safe and walked in side, flicking on a light as he did. Danzo inspected the room as he walked in. Shelves held multiple scrolls in the room and Hiruzen was facing the right side

"When I placed all the scrolls in here I separated them from Senju and Uzumaki. The ones along this wall are all of the Uzumaki" the three nodded and looked at all the scrolls

"Which one should we choose Hiruzen?" he shrugged his shoulders and looked at the scrolls in front of him

"I have no idea what they hold so we should choose a small one that way we know it will not have much information on it." The three nodded and Koharu Utatane reached over to a shelf and picked up a small looking scroll. She tried to remove the clasp on it but it didn't budge.

"This one should do" she handed it to Hiruzen and he tried to open it as well. When he failed he nodded and gestured to the exit. The group made their way out of the vault, once they passed the metal doors Hiruzen pulled them closed with a large slam. They then made their way back to the main level of the tower.

"You three go and have something to eat, I will check on Naruto and then call a meeting in one hour" the three nodded and started left the Hokage as he went to his office.

Upon entering he hears a crying Naruto and looks to see Inu holding the boy and rocking him

"Come on Naruto quiet down. Please? Pretty Please?" the ANBU let out a groan as he continued to try to quiet the child. A chuckle from behind him caused him to turn around and see the Hokage

"Ah Hokage-sama how was the meeting" Hiruzen walked over to his desk and placed the scroll on it

"It was interesting to say the least. Has he been crying long?" Inu shook his head

"Only for a minute. I think he wants to be feed because he does not smell." Hiruzen nodded and walked over to the shinobi with his arms out.

"Give him to me and go to the hospital, a nurse named Ageha Oda should be working. She has agreed to be Naruto's wet nurse." The ANBU nodded but hesitated

"Are you sure you can trust her sir?" Hiruzen nodded as he rocked Naruto

"I had Ibiki talk to her, he said she was clear but I would like you to watch over her in the shadows until I'm positive" Inu paused a moment and Hiruzen let out a sigh

"Get your mind out of the gutter Inu" shaking his head he bowed and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Hiruzen let out another sigh and looked at the scroll on his desk. He knew Naruto would be able to open it but he worried very few things Danzo suggested went well for him.

**=========Council Chambers, One hour later==============**

Hiruzen sat quietly with Naruto in his arms as the last of the councilors came into the room. He could see the fear and hate in the eyes of the civilian councils but paid it no mind. The clan heads looks varied from concern to simple boredom. Once everyone was settled he cleared his throat

"Thank you all for returning I believe we all would like to get this over with so Homura, Danzo and Koharu would you please come forward." The three elders stood and walked to Hiruzen desk

"Is the scroll there the one we found in the vault?" the three looked down at the scroll and Koharu picked it up. She inspected it before handing it over to Danzo, who handed it to Homura after inspection. Homura put it down after his inspection and nodded to the others before turning to Hiruzen

"We all agree that it is"

"Thank you. Please return to your seats" the three bowed their heads and moved back to their table.

"Hiashi-san, Fugaku-san would you two please use your dojutsu and inspect the scroll" the two men nodded

"**Sharingan"**

"**Byakugan"**

Fugaku's eyes morphed from their normal black into red irises with two tomes around the edge. He inspected the scroll and noticed that the clasp had chakra in it but nothing else. The veins around Hiashi's eyes bulged out as he inspected the scroll noticing the same chakra location.

"I do not notice anything except chakra located around the clasp Hokage-sama" Hiruzen nodded and turned to Hiashi

"Do you agree with that Hiashi-san" the Hyuga nodded, deactivating his eyes. Shifting Naruto into one arm he grabbed the scroll and tossed it to Shikaku.

"Shikaku would you please attempt to open the scroll." The Nara let out a sigh

"Troublesome, yes Hokage-sama" he bites his thumb to draw blood and swiped it over the clasp. It glowed red for a few seconds then died down, Shikaku pulled on the clasp but it did not give.

"Thank you Shikaku-san. Inoichi-san would you please bring the scroll up here" the blonde nodded and took the scroll from his friend as he walked to the desk.

Hiruzen gently sent Naruto on the table and pulled out a kunai from his robe, holding up to Inoichi

"If you would please" the man nodded and took the kunai from him. He placed the scroll down and used the free hand to take hold of Naruto's hand. As gently as possible he pricked the boy's hand, making the child start to cry. Inoichi felt slightly bad but continued on, placing the weapon down he rubbed and squeezed Naruto's hand to make the blood flow. Once enough was there he grabbed the scroll from the table and rubbed the clasp into the boy's hand.

The clasp started to glow red just like with Shikaku but after a second there was a click and Inoichi eyes widened. He pulled the scroll open but before he got too far Hiruzen cleared his throat

"That is enough Inoichi-san, that scroll is not for anyone's eyes to see but young Naruto" the man nodded and placed the scroll down on the table before going back to his seat.

"Oda-san" the council turned as a young woman with short black hair walked into the room with an ANBU guard behind her. She quickly walked to the desk and picked up Naruto, with a quick bow she and the ANBU left.

Hiruzen pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned off the kunai, looking around the room as he did. The eyes of the civilian side were wide and some and scowls on their faces, they may not know much about shinobi arts but they knew what had just happened. The Clan heads all looked to be deep in thought, most likely deciding on how this affected the village. His eyes rested on the elders, while Homura and Koharu looked somewhat pleased to have a new clan and the jutsu that would come with it, Danzo looked natural and that made Hiruzen worry. Once he put the weapon away he folded his hands together

"Now then for those of you who did not realize what happened we have proved that Naruto is indeed an Uzumaki and as such has the right to become a clan heir." He paused for a moment for questions, when now came he continued

"Now than by show of hands who believes we should allow Naruto to become the Uzumaki clan heir?" just like earlier everyone but the civilian side of the council raised their hands.

"Very well and those who oppose?" the civilians barely raised their hands

"Thank you. Than by order of the Hokage I declare Naruto Uzumaki clan heir of the Uzumaki clan. If there is no other important business than the civilian council is dismissed." All of the rose and left the room in a huff. Hiruzen waited before turning to the Shinobi

"Now we need to discuss what is going to happen with young Naruto" the group nodded but Tsume raised her hand

"Excuse me Hokage-sama but I have a question about the pups parents" Hiruzen let out a sigh and nodded he knew that someone would figure out Naruto's mother once they saw he was an Uzumaki he decided to keep acting like he didn't know for sure. With his status as clan heir it wasn't going to protect him from anyone wanting revenge on Kushina

"I believe I know what you are going to say Tsume-san. I did some investigating during the break and found that there was an Uzumaki female that was pregnant and should have given birth around the time of the Kyubi attacked. That women was Kushina Uzumaki" he looked at the reactions of the group. More than he thought looked shocked, obviously they recognized the name. Tsume, Shikaku and Shibi Aburame didn't react; obviously they had figured it out.

"As far as I know Kushina is dead, he body has not been recovered but of course there are many unaccounted for. I will look into who knew Kushina to see if we can find the father. Does that answer your questions Tsume-san?" the woman nodded, Hiruzen pulled out his pipe and started to pack it with tobacco.

"Now since Naruto is a clan head and the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi I suggest we have ANBU watch over him. The woman you saw earlier has agreed to watch over Naruto as his nurse until he is able to function on his own. At that time I will hire someone to guard and watch over him until he reaches fifteen or becomes a Genin." He paused to light his pipe and took a drag

"Does anyone have a problem with my decision or comments?" the clan heads all looked to each other. Choza looked to the Hokage

"Where will they be staying?"

"There is an Uzumaki compound close to the Hokage monument. Mito-sama created when she arrived, I believe Kushina-san kept the compound maintained but did not live there. I will have someone check the compound before they move in" Choza smiled and nodded to the idea.

"Anyone else?" after seeing everyone shakes their heads Hiruzen stood

"Very well, thank you all for your time and have a nice evening" he gave a quick bow to them and made his way to his office.

Once inside he saw Ageha changing Naruto's diaper on the floor, Inu stood in the corner looking out the window but turned to Hiruzen and bowed as he walked in

"How did it go Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen lifted his pipe to his lips and began to speak when Ageha cut in

"Hokage-sama please don't smoke around the baby!" he quickly snuffed out the pipe and bowed to her

"My apologies Ageha-san, I am not used to being around children" the woman nodded as she picked up Naruto and checked the bandages on his hand.

"As I was going to say Inu, it is decided that Naruto will be the Uzumaki heir." Ageha smiled and looked at the Hokage

"Does that mean I will be hired full time Hokage-sama" he nodded as he sat down but looked at her with a serious face

"Yes Ageha but I must warn you people are not excepting of Naruto. While I do not think they will resort to violence your life will not be an easy one if you watch him" Inu watched the woman as she stared at the aged leader

"I am aware Hokage-sama but it is the right thing to do. I can't abandon a child in need for something he had no control over, it goes against every reason I have for being a Nurse" the man gave her a small smile

"I hope others will see it like that to one day but for now please be careful. I will assign some ANBU to watch over you and Naruto soon and have the Uzumaki compound ready for you to move into by tonight" the woman nodded and walked to the crib in the corner

"I will head home now and pack some clothes" she gave him a quick bow and rushed out the door, closing it behind her. Hiruzen turned to Inu

"What is your opinion of her?" Inu straighten up and walked in front of the desk

"She seems to be honest with her feelings. I had a clone hidden in the room when she came back with Naruto. I told her I need to take care of something at to wait in here for me to return, from the memories she simple played with the boy and not once tried to harm him" the Hokage nodded and pulled out a scroll, he grabbed a pen and started to write on it

"I want you to deliver this scroll to Dragon than make your way to the Uzumaki compound and check it." Inu took the scroll and looked at it

"May I ask what is in here Hokage-sama?"

"I am asking Dragon to find some ANBU he trust to watch over Naruto until I deem it fit" Inu nodded and headed for the door

"Inu" the man stopped and looked back at the Kage

"The Clan heads and Elders know who his mother is. If you think that will help out with finding trusting ANBU I want you to spread the information"

"Is that wise sir? While Kushina-sama didn't have many enemies people could figure out the father" Hiruzen chuckled at the panic in his voice

"Don't fear Inu, even I didn't know they were a couple until they told me they were pregnant. I'm not sure how they kept the secret but I believe it will be fine. This way some shinobi will be more likely to watch over him than hate him" Inu let out a long sigh and turned to the door

"I hope so Hokage-sama, I really do" as he closed the door Hiruzen turned to look at the village and spoke quietly

"I do to Kakashi"

**=========Below Konoha=============**

Danzo made his way through the lower tunnels under Konoha; he had cleared these areas for his Root unit. Root was something Danzo created to make the perfect solders; emotionless shinobi willing to give their live if need be for Konoha. Hiruzen had told him to disband the unit after the third war but he knew they were something Konoha needed.

As he made his way to his office two figures fell in behind him, both were dressed similar to ABU troops but only so if seen no one would think they were not. One wore a Tiger mask while the other was bug like. The two silently followed behind until they reached Danzo's office, walking in Danzo sat down and looked up at them

"I want a team to go to the Uzumaki compound, I am sure that Hiruzen will have someone check it out but do a second sweep after they leave. Have a second team find and do a background check on the women who will be watching over the child. I want to make sure she is not working for anyone and has only the boy's best interest at heart." The two men nodded but stayed where they were. Danzo raised an eyebrow at them

"You have something to say?" the two exchanged a look before Tiger spoke

"Danzo-sama we do not mean to question your judgment but shouldn't we place some seals or something to monitor the boy?" Danzo chuckled

"No, I guarantee that eventually Jiraiya will look over the house and if any seals are found he will start to look around and we cannot afford that. Plus I have no interest in monitoring the boy yet" the men shared another look but Danzo spoke before they had a chance

"If you are wondering why I did not try to bring the boy under my thumb the answer is simple. Jinchuriki cannot have their emotions locked away like those I train, it is imperative they are in the right mind to keep the beast at bay." He leaned back in his chair

"I was truthful when I said I want the boy to learn all of the fuinjutsu and skills of the Uzumaki. If he is raised to love this village he will improve our military strength and any children he has will only help us in the future. The Uzumaki were a feared clan, with the power of the Kyubi in one he will be stronger than any other Jinchuriki." The two nodded and bowed to Danzo

"Understood Danzo-sama we did not mean to question you?" he waved his hand at the men and they disappeared from the office in a swirl of leaves. After they left he opened a draw on his desk and pulled a picture from it, it showed Danzo, in battle gear during the third war his sword strapped to his side. He was flanked by different shinobi also in battle gear but a small smile crossed his face when his eye fell on a young women.

"I always repay my debts Kushina"

**I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter. As I said I welcome reviews, questions and criticism. Please don't waste my time and yours with flames.**

**Also if you like crossovers I hope you'll check out my other story Pirates of the Leaf.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

"**Demon"**

"**Jutsu/Techniques"**

"_Writings"_

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Naruto.**

**drgonmaster37206: Don't worry he won't be god like.**

**ChibakuNaruto: Not a bad idea but I think I'll wait until later before I reveal his father.**

**============= Konoha, Two days after Kyubi attack =========**

Hiruzen nodded his head to the villagers as he passed by them on the street. The village was in good spirits despite the attack just happening and it did his heart good to see smiling faces. He walked into the tower and made his way to his office, making small talk and exchanging pleasantries with the people there. He opened his door and walked to his desk, the morning's paperwork was already there and he let out a long sigh.

"Damn you Minato" he placed his hat on the table and began to look over the papers. He knew the next few days were going to be hell but that was life, he pulled out his pen and began looking over all of the papers.

After an hour there was a knock on his door

"Come in" the door opened to reveal a tall ANBU wearing a detailed dragon mask walked into the room.

"Good morning Hokage-sama" Hiruzen nodded and placed his pen down

"And a good morning to you Dragon. Is there something I can help you with?" the man nodded and looked around the room

"Clear the room" two figures stepped out from the shadows in the corners and walked out the door. Dragon closed it behind them and walked to a chair in front of Hiruzen desk.

"Inu gave me your scroll yesterday, I have no problem with losing a team for the boy however I do have a question" Hiruzen leaned back into his chair

"I will tell you anything I can but know that details of the boy are S class secrets" the ANBU nodded

"Of course sir, Inu informed us that there is a chance this boy is Kushina-sama's child, is this true?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the ANBU

"Sama?" Dragon started to chuckle

"She may not have ever been my superior sir but I am aware of what her codename was. She deserves nothing less"

"That is good to hear but yes I am almost positive she is the mother. No one else who bore the name Uzumaki was registered as pregnant in the hospital records." Dragon rubbed his neck

"Yes I had visited her a few nights ago. She said the due date was soon so it makes since I just wanted to be clear" he reached behind his back and pulled out a scroll

"I went ahead and informed the others about the boy and asked the Captains to volunteer for the assignment. Here is the list of teams willing to guard the boy." Hiruzen took the scroll and opened it, his eyes widened slightly and looked up at Dragon

"You are sure about this?" Dragon gave a stern nod

"Hai, most volunteered before I even asked and after word spread he was Kushina-sama's son the rest followed" Hiruzen chuckled

"Well I was hoping that at least a few ANBU would want to watch over the boy but I didn't expect all of them." Dragon shrugged

"We are not simple minded fools Hokage-sama; we lose friends and comrades often. We know that Naruto isn't the Kyubi and don't blame him. I think we should pick Hawks team though, that was the team Kushina-sama lead until she took her leave. Neko replaced her but I know she idolized Kushina-sama so we can trust her." Hiruzen nodded and put down the scroll

"That sound fine to me, clear it with all of them to be sure. This is not a normal job for ANBU and I don't want to force anyone to do it. If members are not comfortable with the mission change them out for others who are." Dragon nodded and stood up

"Hai Hokage –sama. They should be here by three" Hiruzen nodded as the man left his office, the two ANBU guards walking back into their corners. He rolled the scroll up and placed it into a draw, he was happy that Naruto had the backing of ANBU. It would make his life easier know that.

"Hokage-sama" he looked up to see the face of his secretary

"Yes Misaki?" she stepped into the room

"The Civilian council would like to meet with you about the repairs to the village" Hiruzen let out a sigh

"Do I have anything planned for this morning" she walked out of the door for a few moments and returned

"No sir" he nodded and stood from the desk, letting out a groan

"Very well" he placed his hat on and began walking out

"Please add a meeting for me at three with ANBU for today" the woman nodded and sat back at her desk as he walked down the hall

**==========Uzumaki Compound================**

Ageha stood outside of the room she had claimed as her own, taking in the scenery. The Uzumaki compound was a large open area surrounded by trees just behind the eight foot walls defining the compound. The house itself was a classical style two floor building set close to the entrance of the compound. She guessed that was so people could train away from the house without fear of hitting it. Just behind the house was a lovely garden with a small koi pond, a stone table for outdoor use and, much to her delight, a medium sized Onsen.

She turned back into the house and walked to check on Naruto, who was still asleep.

"Ageha-san" she turned to see Inu standing in the doorway holding some bags.

"Ah Inu-san thank you for getting groceries, I know it's asking a lot especially of an ANBU" he placed them down at the door and shook his head

"It was no trouble at all I assure you but I must be on my way now" she crossed the room and took up the bags

"Of course I'm sure the ANBU are very busy" he chuckled and shook his head

"No I just need to eat" the two shared a laugh before she bowed to him

"Again thank you for your help" he waved her off

"I was happy to. I know that a team of ANBU is being assigned today so we probably won't be seeing each other again" he crossed the room as he spoke and looked at Naruto. Ageha had a feeling he was talking to the baby more than her so she stayed quiet. After a minute he turned around and headed out the door

"Goodbye Ageha-san" with a quick nod he disappeared is a swirl of leaves. She gave a small smile

"Goodbye Inu-san"

**================= Hokage Office**

Hiruzen looked over the papers in front of him when he felt chakra building and looked up as four figures appeared in his office; it was the ANBU he had been waiting on. Once they appeared they went down to one knee and bowed

"Hokage-sama" Hiruzen looked over the shinobi in front of him

"Rise" the four stood to attention showing their mask to Hiruzen. Neko stood to his far left, she was smaller than the others but he knew that was mostly due to her age, her purple hair was tied into a ponytail falling over her left shoulder and a Katana on her left hip. Next to her was a stocky bald man wearing an Ox mask, he seemed relaxed but Hiruzen could tell he was ready to strike at a moment's notice. The third member was a lanky man wearing a Rat mask, his black hair was pulled back into a small ponytail. The final member was an average looking man with short dirty blond hair barley showing behind his Hawk mask.

"Please stand at ease" the four relaxed slightly but it was the best Hiruzen was going to get from ANBU. He pulled out his pipe and began to pack it

"Did Dragon explain the mission you have been chosen for?" Hawk stepped forward

"He did Hokage-sama" Hiruzen nodded and light his pipe

"And you four are fine with a babysitting job?" he looked at the four as he took a drag of the pipe. Hawk glanced back and when he got a nod from everyone looked back at his leader

"Hai Hokage-sama" Hiruzen nodded and handed him four folders, he passed his teammates theirs and opened his

"Very well, the job is very basic your mission is to watch over and protect Naruto Uzumaki and his nurse Ageha Oda" he nodded and flipped some of the pages

"In the event of an emergency do we prioritize the boy?" Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe and let out a sigh

"Yes" Hawk nodded, he knew Hiruzen didn't like to put one life over another but in this event it was the right call

"How much of a presence should we be?"

"Seeing as the boy is a baby and will not be active I am fine with you being visible but mask stay on at all times. I am fine with you being somewhat relaxed as long as you stay alert." Hawk nodded

"Schedule?"

"That is up to you and your team"

"Will you be escorting us there?" Hiruzen shook his head and handed him a scroll

"No I am too busy right now, go when you are ready and hand this to Ageha-san." The man took the scroll and bowed

"Will do Hokage-sama" the other three bowed and then all of them disappeared in swirls of leaves.

**=========== Uzumaki Compound ==========**

Ageha sang softly to Naruto as he was feeding and mental went over supplies she needs to get. The house was full furnished and she had some food for a day or two but she needed the rest of her clothes and bath supplies. She was broken from her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. Adjusting the towel she moved to look through the peephole and saw an ANBU with a bird mask

"Who is it?"

"Hawk of the ANBU, we are the team sent to watch over you and young Naruto Oda-san." She cracked the door open slightly and looked at the man

"Hawk-san could you give me one minute I am in the middle of feeding" the man nodded

"Of course please take your time" she smiled and moved into the living room, sitting on the couch she made sure she was covered

"You may enter Hawk-san" the four ANBU walked into the house and looked at her in the living room. Ox quickly turned around to face the wall when he realized what she was doing, the others laughed at him.

"I am sorry ANBU-san I didn't mean to embarrass you" Ox cleared his throat

"It is fine ma'am" Hawk looked at Rat

"Take Ox and do a walk through" he nodded and slapped Ox on the shoulder as he passed letting him know to follow him. Hawk turned to Ageha and bowed

"Oda-san as I said I am ANBU Captain Hawk. This is my teammate Neko and the two that left were Ox, the shy one, and Rat. We have been assigned to watch over you and Naruto" he walked over and placed the scroll the Hokage gave him on the coffee table by her

"That is from the Hokage" she nodded and looked to Hawk

"So how will all of this work exactly?" Hawk walked over to a chair and sat down; he looked to Neko and gestured for her to sit

"At least two of us will be awake watching over you at a time. The Hokage is fine that we stay in sight so we will act naturally around you so as not to make you uncomfortable. We will however be keeping our mask on and must go by our ANBU names" Ageha nodded as Naruto finished and moved her hand under the towel to readjust herself

"So we will basically be living together" Hawk nodded

"Yes but I ask that you try not to get to personal with us. We of course have no problem being social but we cannot afford to reveal who we are and must stay away from to many personal questions." She nodded as she placed Naruto on her shoulder and patted his back

"Will I be able to leave him with you if I need to run errands or bath?"

"Of course, while we are not nurses like you we can certainly watch him for a bit" she smiled

"Well that's all I can think of for now. Would you like a tour of the compound" Hawk stood and bowed

"That would be wonderful" Neko stood and followed behind the two

**================ Root Base====================**

Danzo was looking over a report from one of his teams missions when someone knocked on his door

"Enter" Tiger stepped through the door and bowed to Danzo

"Danzo-sama I came with a report on Naruto Uzumaki" he closed the folder he was looking at and looked up to Tiger

"Proceed" the man stood up straight and took a breath

"Earlier this afternoon the Hokage assigned ANBU team 5 under Captain Hawk to watch over the boy. The team consists of ANBU Hawk, Neko, Ox and Rat." Danzo scratched his chin

"What do we know of them?"

"Team five was the team Kushina Uzumaki was Captain of before she took leave due to pregnancy. Hawk, Ox and Rat were her subordinates and she recommended Hawk to replace her. Neko was added to the team because of her Kenjutsu knowledge" Danzo nodded

"Good, how is the background search going for the nurse?"

"So far we have found nothing but I believe we will need more time just to be sure" Danzo nodded

"Agreed, you are dismissed"

"Hai Danzo-sama" he bowed quickly and left the office

**=========== Uzumaki Compound, 4 years later ============**

Neko slipped her mask over her face and pulled a hair tie from her waist and wrapping it around her hair. Stretching she walked out of her room just as a blonde blur ran by, closely followed by an upset Ageha

"Naruto Uzumaki you get back here young man!" Neko looked down the hall past Ageha to see Naruto was naked

"No Bath!" the naked blonde bolted down the hall and into the living room

"You will get in that tub young man!" Ageha went to grab him but he dove under the coffee table and crawled to the other side. He stood up and ran to one side heading towards the dining room. His leg was suddenly grabbed and lifted into the air; the blonde stared upside down at Ox, who was laughing

"Gotcha kid" Ageha stormed over and looked at the boy with a glare, making him frown

"If Ox-san lets you down will you be a good boy and take a bath?" he pouted but nodded his head. Ox chuckled as he set the boy down

"You would think he would realize by now you're always going to catch him" Ageha let out a sigh as she took the pouting blondes had and lead him back to the bathroom. Neko rubbed his head as she passed

"Good try Naru-kun" the boy smiled up at her

"Neko-nee-chan will you read to me after my bath" she nodded her head and the boy smiled before rushing to the bathroom

"Yaaaaaaay!" she smiled behind her mask and moved into the living room

"Good morning Neko" she looked up and saw Ox reading the paper

"Morning, anything happen while I was out?" Ox shook his head as he turned the page

"Nothing really, Captain got called in for a meeting and the kid somehow got ahold of Rat's clothes and dyed them pink" Ox chuckled as he finished and Neko shook her head

"Why?"

"Rat eat the last cup of instant ramen" she let out a sigh and sat down in a chair

"That boy"

Life for the ANBU babysitters had been interesting in the past few years. Naruto was now walking, talking and causing trouble almost daily. He was a blonde ball of energy that even the four experienced ANBU and Ageha had trouble tiring out. While he was a handful Neko had enjoyed her assignment more than she thought. Originally she joined ANBU for the excitement and danger, when she got the opportunity to work on the team her ideal was in charge of she nearly fainted.

Alas things didn't work out like she hoped but every cloud has a silver lining and she can't say she doesn't enjoy watching over the blonde heir. She was broken from her thought when the door opened and Hawk walked in

"Good morning sir how was your meeting?" Hawk looked over at her and shook his head while letting out a long sigh

"It was informative to say the least. I'm going to lie down for a bit" she nodded and looked to Ox

"What was that about?" he shrugged but kept looking at his paper

"Not sure but if it's important will he will let us know" she sighed and headed down the hall way towards the library to find something to red to Naruto when he was done with his bath.

**========== Uchiha Compound ================**

Fugaku Uchiha sat in a large room inside the Uchiha compound and ran his hand through his hair. He looked around the room at all of the clan members that were gathered with him. He and the clan elders had just broken the news that the village was investigating them for the Kyubi attack.

Apparently it is documented that the Kyubi can be controlled by the Sharingan and many of the Uchiha were not present during the attack. Fugaku scoffed at that, why should the village elite rush to their deaths when they had plenty of commoners to delay the beast.

"So what will we do Fugaku-sama?" he looked up at the man who spoke and let out a sigh

"We are moving to a larger compound in the corner of the village for the time being" many of the members were grumbling and scoffing at the news. One of the elders banged his hand on the table to get attention

"This is an outrage, how can the village treat us, the most powerful clan in Konoha, like some kind of lepers" many of the clansmen cheered the man on but stopped when Fugaku raised his hand for quiet

"We will go along with this farce for now but trust in me and the elder to find a solution" the men all looked around at each other but eventually all agreed to trust in them. Fugaku dismissed them all and when they were gone turned to the five elders

"Fugaku we should not be putting up with these. We helped found this village; we are the oldest remaining clan. They should be licking our boots in thanks for defending them" the others nodded along with the elder

"And I agree, this act just proves that Konoha no longer cares for us and disrespects us. I have already ordered the military police to start investigating the other clans discreetly to find their weaknesses and to memorize any information they can on the non-clan shinobi." The elders smiled at his initiative

"Good but if we want to take our rightful place as the village leaders we need more" a grin split across Fugaku's face and the elders looked confused

"I already have thought of that" they looked between them before one asked

"What do you have in mind Fugaku?"

"You all know my son Sasuke correct" the men nodded

"He is the same age as the Uzumaki boy, my plan is to have Sasuke befriend the boy and get him to just us. That way we will have the might of both the Uzumaki fuinjutsu and the Kyubi with us" the men gasped and one elder quickly spoke

"Won't Hiruzen and the others view this as us trying to control the Kyubi like they accused" Fugaku started to chuckle

"Who cares, he views that boy like a grandson and since none of the villagers allow their children to play with him and the clan children stay amongst themselves mostly he is alone. If he makes friends with Sasuke Hiruzen wouldn't dream of breaking the child's heart by telling him to stay away" the elder's eyes all widened and smirks went across their faces

"So Hiruzen will be powerless to stop us from gaining control of the boy. We simply have to put on a smiling face and welcome the boy with open arms" the others all nodded to his thoughts but Fugaku cut in

"We must wait a while before we start our plan. If we try this so soon after the move I fear they will catch on to our actions" the elders all agreed. There plans would take time to bear fruit but it would be worth it in the end.

**=========== Hokage Office, 2 years later =================**

Hiruzen was sitting in his office giggling as he read his students prize book, ever since he became the Hokage again this was the only time he could enjoy the work of art and get some rest from that evil that is paperwork. His free time was interrupted when his office door flew open and a blonde blur flew towards him

"Jiji!" Hiruzen barely had time to put his book into the drawer before the blonde missile hit him in the chest. After a grunt of pain he looked down at the whiskered face of Naruto. The five year old gave him a big grin

"Hi Jiji" the Hokage chuckled as he ruffled the boys hair

"Hello to you too Naruto-kun"

"Naruto what have I told you about running through the tower" the two males turned to see Ageha walking into the office. Naruto placed his finger under his chin and hummed

"More than one?" Ageha let out a sigh and shook her head. Hiruzen chuckled and placed the boy on the ground

"So Naruto-kun what brings you here today?" the boy grinned and ran to Ageha and started digging in a bag she was holding. Soon he pulled out a piece of paper and brought it over to the man

"I drew this for you" Hiruzen picked up the picture and smiled it was a crayon drawing of him and Naruto together.

"It's very nice Naruto-kun, thank you" the boy beamed at the praise

"Jiji can you come get ramen with us?" Hiruzen sighed and shook his head

"I'm sorry Naruto but I can't. Maybe next time" the blondes smile faded some but he hugged the Hokage leg

"It's okay Jiji I understand your busy running the whole village." Hiruzen smiled and ruffled Naruto's hair

"Thank you Naruto-kun, now go enjoy your ramen and tell Teuchi-san to put it on my bill" Naruto's eyes got wide and he ran to Ageha

"Come on Ageha-chan free ramen!" the woman put her hands on his shoulders to calm him down

"I need to talk to the Hokage about something so you go ahead and I'll meet you there" the boy nodded and raced out of the room. Ageha shook her head and closed the door before walking to the desk.

Hiruzen watched her carefully and noticed she seemed nervous

"How can I help you Ageha-san?" she took a deep breath

"I think it is time I leave Hokage-sama" the room was silent for a moment before he decided to speak

"Has something happened to make you want to leave?"

"I'm not sure if you are aware but I have been seeing a merchant from the capitol, when he comes for business, and he has asked me to marry him" Hiruzen nodded in understanding, Hawk had informed him of the relationship and he had the man investigated. He turned out to be fine so Hiruzen forgot about him till now.

He let out a sigh and looked up to Ageha, he couldn't ask her to pass this up no matter how much it would hurt Naruto and he knew this day would come eventually.

"I guess congratulations are in order than" she smiled and nodded

"Thank you sir, I wanted to wait until after Naruto's birthday to bring it up. You know how that day gets him" of course he did. Naruto was a smart child and quickly noticed that people stared at him and went out of their way to avoid him. Ageha had even told him how the children would avoid him or tease him on the playground, always encouraged by their parents.

His birthday was worse than that though; the civilians would through a big party honoring the Fourth and his victory over the Kyubi. There was a big festival with games, food and of course alcohol; this caused many of the villagers to want to vent their anger from that day. More than once he received reports from the ANBU about stopping villagers from entering the Uzumaki compound.

"And I thank you for that, it is a hard time for him" a sad smile went across her face as she nodded

"Do you think he will be okay?" Hiruzen leaned back into his chair and ran a hand through his thinning hair

"He is a smart boy Ageha, if you explain it to him he will. He might be upset for a while but I'm sure he will forgive you" she nodded and quickly rubbed her eyes to keep from tearing up

"Thank you Hokage-sama"

"You're welcome, when do you plan on leaving?"

"Kenta-kun will be back in a week for business and I will leave with him when he is done" Hiruzen nodded

"Alright, I will find someone by than to take your place" she nodded and picked up her bag and left the room.

Hiruzen sighed as she closed the door; he pulled out his pipe and packed it with tobacco.

"Sparrow" an ANBU stepped forward from the shadows

"Yes Hokage-sama"

"Please find Hayate Gekko and bring him to the office"

"Hai" he disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Hiruzen started to work on his daily paperwork again while he waited for the men to return. After several minutes two men appeared before him. One was Sparrow the other was a pale looking man with his headband covering his whole head. The man stood about average hit but his body seemed thin compared to most his age.

"You called for me Hokage-sama" Hiruzen pulled out a folder and passed it to him

"Yes Hayate I have a long term assignment I was hoping you would take" Hayate looked surprised by that and opened the folder to see a picture of Naruto along with information sheets on him

"That is Naruto Uzumaki, I'm sure you recognize the name" coughing into his hand he nodded

"Good, Naruto has been under the care of a nurse who recently became engaged and will be leaving Konoha. As such I need someone to watch over him" Hayate closed the folder

"I mean no disrespect Hokage-sama but that doesn't seem like a job for a shinobi, especially a Tokubetsu Jonin. "He started to cough as he finished

"Normally I would agree however Naruto is a special case. Not only is he a clan heir but also the holder of the Kyubi so I need people that I can trust and could keep him safe if need be" Hayate placed the folder on the desk

"If that's true who was watching him until now besides the woman, the folder said she was a civilian"

"I had an ANBU team watch over him but he is growing up and I feel one skilled bodyguard would be enough"

"I see" he brought his hand to his chin and began to think

"Was there a reason you picked me sir?" Hiruzen nodded and pulled another folder out opening it himself

"First you are a skilled shinobi that has many successful bodyguard missions. Second you are a Kenjutsu specialist, I plan on giving Naruto his family scrolls soon and there is a high probability he will find ones on the Uzumaki sword style. I would like to have someone there to help him train" Hayate's attention perked up at that, not many people in Konoha practiced Kenjutsu and he knew of the Uzumaki style

"Third it says in your file you were recommended to join ANBU but because of your chronic cough were unable to join." Hiruzen looked up to get a conformation on that from him

"The person who recommended you was none other than Naruto's mother Kushina Uzumaki, for that reason I know I can trust you to watch over the boy" he closed the file and waited for Hayate to process everything.

"What will the mission rank be considered?"

"It will be classified as a long term B rank" Hayate nodded and closed his eyes in thought.

"_It's not a bad gig honestly; good pay, I stay in the village and it's not like the kids a baby. Of course he is a kid so I'll have to pretty much raise him"_ he let out a sigh and opened his eyes

"Would it be alright if I sleep on this and tell you in the morning Hokage-sama" Hiruzen nodded

"Of course Hayate" he stood and bowed to the Hokage before exiting. Hiruzen turned and looked out the window. He decided to give Naruto his family scrolls after Ageha broke the news to him she was leaving. It would be a minor thing to losing his mother figure but hopefully he could connect to his real family in some way.

**I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I apologize for the lack of action so far. Soon he will start working on improving himself and I plan on him meeting some of the kids before the academy. **


	3. Chapter 3

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

"**Demon"**

"**Jutsu/Techniques"**

"_Writings"_

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Naruto.**

**=================== Konoha, Uzumaki Compound ===========**

Naruto sat on the couch in his house barely reading the book in his hands; he wasn't in the mood to read. Yesterday Ageha, his nurse for five years, had left to the capitol to get married and start a new life. He wanted to be happy for her but no matter how hard he tried he just felt sad. She had informed him two weeks ago of her plans and needless to say he did not handle it well. After some crying, yelling and locking himself in his room he had talked to her and worked it out but now here he was alone.

To make matters worse his Jiji had informed him that his ANBU guardians would also be getting reassigned to normal ANBU duties. That one hurt less because all of them promised that they would come by and visit him when they had the spare time. So here he was all alone in an empty house with nothing to do. He was broken from his thoughts when someone knocked on his door, placing the book down he walked to it

"Who is it?"

"It's me Naruto-kun" a smile spread across his face as he flung the door open.

"Hi Jiji!" the boy wrapped his arms around his grandfather figures legs making the man chuckle as he rubbed the boys head.

"Hello to you too Naruto-kun, may we come in?"

The boy let go of Hiruzen and looked past him to see a man standing behind him with a small smile on his face. He was wearing the normal Jonin attire Naruto had seen in the village but had the cloth of his headband unfolded to be a full bandana over his head. Naruto also noticed he had a blade attached to his hip. He stepped back and gave a quick bow, like Ageha had taught him to do when meeting people older than him

"Hello I am Naruto Uzumaki".

Hayate was slightly shocked at the boy's reactions, he knew that the Hokage was like a grandfather to him so the hugging he wasn't surprised by but the polite introduction was different.

"It is nice to meet you Uzumaki-san, I am Hayate Gekko".

"It is nice to meet you Gekko-san and you can call me Naruto if you would like" the man nodded.

Naruto smiled and stepped out of the doorway so the two men could enter, while they walked past Naruto noticed the large scroll on Hayate's back. Curious he closed the door and followed the men to the living room and sitting in a chair across from them.

"How are you today Naruto-kun?"

"I'm okay" he said with a sad smile on his face.

"I know its hard Naruto but you will get through it".

"I know Jiji" Hayate had a small coughing spell and Naruto looked at him in concern.

"Do you need anything to drink Gekko-san" the man waved Naruto off.

"It is fine, I have a chronic cough. Nothing life threatening but I cough constantly".

"Naruto-kun I came here today for two reasons, the first of which involves this scroll here" Hiruzen stood and held out his arms for the scroll from Hayate, after reciving it he walked around the table and handed it to Naruto.

"What is it?"

"That Naruto is a scroll with multiple storage seals on it. Every known scroll belonging to your family in Konoha is sealed inside that scroll".

The boy's eyes widened and he quickly dropped to the floor and unrolled the scroll. Every few feet there was the same seal and he looked at it confused. Hiruzen chuckled and walked around to Naruto's side and bent over, placing his hand on the seal and channeling chakra. Naruto watched amazed as the seal glowed and suddenly there was a small pile of scrolls stacked where the seal had been.

"That's amazing Jiji, how did you do that?" the aged Hokage smiled and placed his hand on Naruto's head.

"That Naruto-kun is something known as Fuinjutsu, a skill your family was very well known for" the boys eyes sparkled with curiosity and wonder.

"Really, so can I learn how to do that?"

"Of course, like I was saying in this large scroll and dozens of these smaller scrolls and a few big ones. Each of them should have different techniques and jutsu's of all varieties" Naruto's jaw hit the floor when he heard that and he quickly started to push the large scroll open.

"Hurry Jiji get them all out so I can start training to become the strongest ninja every!"

"I'm sure you will Naruto, but hold on I need to explain something about these scrolls first. You see how they all have these clasps on them? Well each one has a special seal on it called a blood seal. It keeps people not related to the one who sealed it from opening it".

Naruto had picked up one of the scrolls as Hiruzen explained about them and looked at the clasp with curiosity.

"So only I can open it?"

"That's right Naruto, you just have to put some blood on it and the clasp will unlock".

Naruto quickly started looking around the room for something sharp but when he didn't see anything he turned towards the kitchen. Hiruzen grabbed him by the collar of his shirt before he got two steps away and sat him down.

"Hold on Naruto-kun, I don't need you bleeding all over the house just yet" the blonde scratched the back of his head and grinned.

"Sorry Jiji I just got really excited".

"I understand but before we start unsealing everything let me tell you the other reason I came here today".

Hayate had been watching the scene before him with an amused grin, the boy seemed smart and quickly grasped thing in his opinion. His drive to learn also seemed high, good qualities to have for a shinobi but he would have to work on the boy's patience some. When Hiruzen mentioned the other reason Hayate sat up right knowing it was his turn.

"Now than I know you are sad that Ageha-san and the ANBU won't be living with you anymore but I have asked Hayate here to start helping you train to be a shinobi and with anything in your family scrolls you need help with."

Naruto looked up at Hayate with a mixture of feelings; while happy someone was willing to help train him he didn't like the idea of suddenly staying with a stranger. He was very weary of people, every time he walked through the village or went to the park he would hear the whispers about him and the cold glare from adults. He had asked Ageha and the ANBU why people were like that to him but they never gave him a straight answer. Hayate saw the confusion playing out in Naruto's eyes decided to try and ease the boys mind.

"I know this is sudden Naruto but I promise you if you give me a chance ill help you become the greatest shinobi ever".

Naruto looked unsure but glanced over to Hiruzen, who smiled and gave Naruto a nod. He decided if his Jiji trusted the man he could at least give him a try.

"Okay Gekko-san".

"Hayate is fine Naruto" he said between coughs.

Hiruzen smiled and clapped his hands to get their attention.

"Wonderful now then Naruto-kun why don't you gather up all of these scrolls and will head into your library and sort them all out".

Naruto smiled and quickly gathered up all of the small scrolls while Hayate rolled up the large one and followed the others down the hall. Soon they came to a pair of sliding doors and Naruto used his free hand to push them apart. They reviled a large open room with book shelves and racks for scrolls to be placed in. Only one bookcase had anything on it and Hayate assumed they were Naruto's, a beautiful dark wooden desk sat near the back of the room and had a small lamp on it.

"Alright Naruto I'm not sure if you noticed but each of those scrolls have different color bands on them. I saw four different colored bands among all the scrolls, before you ask I have no idea what they mean so we will have to wait and see. Now I will begin unsealing them all while you and Hayate separate them by color okay".

Naruto nodded and started to grab scrolls from the ones already unsealed, they had red and blue bands so he picked to shelves and started their piles. For half an hour this was the pattern, Hiruzen sat at the desk unsealing while Naruto and Hayate moved the scrolls to their specific shelves. The last seal housed only one small scroll with a gold band and the Uzumaki crest printed on it, Hiruzen placed it on the desk and began to roll up the large scroll.

"I believe that one should be opened first Naruto-kun" the boy nodded and started towards the scroll but stopped.

"Is it okay if I read it alone Jiji" the man nodded and pulled a kunai from beneath his robes, after laying it on the desk he and Hayate walked out of the room and slid the doors shut.

Taking a deep breath Naruto walked around the desk and hopped up on to the chair so he could grab the kunai and scroll. He sat down and carefully cut his thumb so it bleeds just enough to open the scroll. He placed the kunai back on the desk and swiped his thumb across the clasp, after a glowing of red for a second the clasp unlocked and Naruto carefully unrolled it.

"_To whom it may concern,_

_Greetings I am Kenshin Uzumaki, current leader of Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki Clan. I am writing this letter because we have received reports of a possible attack on the village in the near future. I have decided to send away all of the clan's knowledge in case the attack is as serious as our spies believe. If you are reading this I am sorry that we failed and Uzushiogakure is no more. I am happy to know our knowledge and clan will live on with you. I'm sure you noticed each of the scrolls have different bands around them; I have done this so you can keep them organized. Red bands are for Fuinjutsu; Blue for Ninjutsu (this includes Genjutsu and medical Ninjutsu). Black bands are Kenjutsu and Taijutsu scrolls along with the work out plans for training the body and finally Green are clan laws and traditions. The scrolls are also written so that the smallest scrolls should be read first, they hold the training and lower level skills. Read the scrolls and follow their instructions carefully, no one ever became powerful by rushing, only through hard work and patience will you become a proper shinobi and Uzumaki._

_I advise you to read through the red banded scrolls first fuinjutsu is one of the hardest skills to learn but many of the starting exercises will help with the other skills. Along with them start with the black scrolls, they will improve the body while also teaching you control and patience. The blue scrolls should not be attempted until you have a good enough level of chakra control. You will find that after you complete a certain scroll in fuinjutsu I advised beginning your ninjutsu lessons. The green scrolls should be read during your training breaks or free time so you improve the mind while your body rests._

_While I am sorry I cannot be there to help you in your life I have faith that you will use our knowledge to remind the world of the Uzumaki's power._

_Kenshin Uzumaki_

Naruto broke in to tears by the end of the letter; he wished he could have known the man or anyone in his family. He decided right than that he would learn everything in these scrolls and honor Kenshin's request to remind the world of the Uzumaki's. Quickly rolling the scroll up he pulled open the middle desk drawer and put the scroll there, he used his sleeve to dry the tears from his eyes and headed out the door. He found Hiruzen and Hayate sitting in the living room talking but as soon as he entered they turned to him. Hiruzen walked over to him and noticed the red around his eyes from crying.

"Is everything alright Naruto-kun" the boy nodded quickly.

"Yes Jiji, it was a letter from someone named Kenshin Uzumaki. He said he was the last leader of the clan and Uzushiogakure, he explained about the bands on the scrolls and other stuff" Hiruzen nodded and pulled the boy into a hug, feeling Naruto return it in full.

"Well, this has been an exciting day how about we go get some ramen?" Naruto smiled up at him and raced for the door.

"Last one there has to pay!" the older males laughed and slowly followed the boy into town.

**================= Uchiha Compound =====================**

Fugaku sat at his desk looking over some of the reports his men had found on the clans. In the past few years they had slowly infiltrated all of the different branches of Konoha and had found a great deal of information out about anyone who could pose a threat. His greatest triumph though was his oldest son Itachi, the boy was a prodigy unlike any other. Only ten years old and already and accomplished chunin with the possibility of becoming a Jonin or even ANBU within the next year or two.

"Excuse me Fugaku-san but are you busy?" he looked up to see one of the clansmen in his military police uniform and waved him in.

"Of course Setsuna come in" the man bowed and walked in closing the door behind him.

"Sir as you requested myself and others on the force have kept our ears open for news on the Uzumaki boy. Well today I was eating at the ramen stand he frequents and saw him with the Hokage and another shinobi I did not recognize."

"What did he look like?"

"He wore a standard Jonin outfit, a blue bandana style headband and had a katana with him."

"Hmmm I'm not sure myself but I will have someone look into it. Did they say anything of interest?" the man broke into a huge grin.

"The boy was going on and on about starting his shinobi training and how happy he was about some scrolls" Fugaku's grin matched Setsuna's as he leaned back into his chair.

"Excellent work Setsuna, I was going to start Sasuke's training soon anyways so this will be the perfect time to introduce the boys. If there is nothing else to report you can leave, I have plans to make" the man bowed and left the office quickly.

"_Let's see, I can have Mikoto start taking Sasuke out to the park and ramen stand after his lessons and hopefully he will run into the boy there. Maybe I can even see if he needs a tutor"_ Fugaku started to chuckle to himself as his plans came together.

**============== Uzumaki Compound ======================**

Hayate stood inside his new room unpacking the clothes he had brought with him, after dinner he had brought Naruto to his apartment so the two could start bringing his possessions over. He was growing quite fond of Naruto already, while he could see the boy was not entirely trusting of him yet he was talkative and friendly. He finished unpacking what they had brought and decided to check up on Naruto because he hadn't seen or heard from him in a while. Walking down the hall he noticed the light in the library was on and peaked inside to see Naruto on the floor looking through a scroll.

"Hey Naruto what are you looking at?" the blonde jumped slightly from the sudden voice but recovered and held up the scroll so Hayate could see it.

"It's one of the fuinjutsu scrolls, there all labeled on the inside of what order I should complete them in so I'm trying to find the first one." He placed the one he had on the ground and picked another up, slicing his finger first.

"Isn't there an easier way to do this?" he said as he waved his hand annoyed with the pain

"Well you could open up a couple at a time instead" Naruto held his thumb up so Hayate could see.

"But it heals too quickly for that".

Hayate watched in wonder as the small cut quickly healed in a matter of seconds. Hiruzen had informed him that being a Jinchuriki Naruto would heal faster than most people and so far had never been sick. A cough broke him from his thoughts.

"Well make sure you follow those scrolls in order, no matter how cool something sounds if you try it before your ready you can really hurt yourself."

"Don't worry Hayate-san I will, Kenshin-sama said the same thing".

"Kenshin-sama?" Naruto nodded.

"Seeing as he was the last head I figure it was right to call him that" Hayate nodded and ruffled the boys hair.

"While a good idea if he's anything like you and your mother than he probably wouldn't like that" Naruto dropped his scroll and looked up at Hayate.

'Y-you knew my mother?".

"More of her than actually her but I spared against her a few times, not many people practice Kenjutsu in Konoha so those of us that do know each other".

"Ya Neko-neechan told me my mom was one of the best Konoha have ever had" Hayate sat down next to him and nodded.

"That she was, I was never fortunate enough to spar against her but she did give me advice from time to time on my form."

"Did you practice the same style?"

"No, but just because your style is different doesn't mean you can't give someone good advice. Especially when their as skilled as your mother".

"Do you think I can be as good as her?" Hayate chuckled.

"Only if you train hard and practice".

"I will that's a promise and I never break a promise" Hayate could see the passion in Naruto's eyes and smiled.

"Good" he stood up and started towards the door.

"I'm getting something to drink do you want anything Naruto."

"No thank you."

Naruto went back to looking through the scrolls, each time he opened one he would read the first paragraph and correctly put it in line with the others. After a minute of searching he finally found the first scroll and began reading.

_Welcome to your first steps of learning Fuinjutsu, as you may or may not know we Uzumaki thrive in this particular field. Fuinjutsu is one of the most diverse fields there is to learn from simple things like storage scroll to more complex seals used to create barriers. The work will be difficult make no mistake but if you train hard enough the results can be endless._

_One of the major points of fuinjutsu is correctly writing the formulas, one slip of the hand could render the whole array useless. Your first task is to train in Calligraphy, practicing at least one hour every day for six months._

_At the bottom of this scroll you will see a box with seals around it, above that is different kanji. After your six months you are to draw those kanji into the box. If done properly it will glow green, if not it will glow red and take another month before it clears itself, in that time keep practicing._

Naruto let out a sigh and made a mental not to buy ink and brushes tomorrow along with a book on calligraphy. He decided to look through the black scroll too seeing as he would not be doing much on the fuinjutsu it might make his day more exciting. Cleaning up and properly placing the scrolls onto the shelf he started digging through the black labels until he found the first, however this one was more of a list than an introduction. It gave basic exercises to do that would improve his body and a diet that would be both delicious and health, of course he didn't see ramen on the scroll and that confused him. Ramen was the food of the gods why would it not be included in a plan to make him stronger. He added that to a list of things to talk about with Hayate in the morning.

**==================== One month later ======================**

Naruto stood panting in his backyard covered in sweat and dirt. In the past month he had come out every morning to work out in the training area to improve his body. The list in his scrolls was extensive and while the exercises were not complicated the amount he needs to do was stressful on his young body. The first few days after he had started he couldn't even finish all of the drills but now he could struggle through them. Hayate had told him eventually he would be able to do this routine and then some so he pressed on. Grabbing his water bottle he walked back to the house for a shower and change of clothes.

Ever since he got the scrolls and decided to show the world the greatness of the Uzumaki's his wardrobe had changed somewhat. Where he used to just wear random clothes that matched him now wore navy blue t-shirts with red Uzumaki crests on the back along with black pants and a pair of black shinobi sandals. He had trouble at first getting the clothes because none of the tailors wanted to sew the symbol on the shirts thinking it a symbol for shinobi. Luckily Hayate explained the symbol was Naruto's clans and on the shinobi vest as a sign of remembrance, they still weren't happy about it but knew there was nothing they could do.

Hayate and he had also started to get along better, while he was weary at first his Neechan had told him she knew of Hayate and that he was a good man. So he started to open up to him and he to him, they weren't exactly close yet but Naruto knew it was just a matter of getting to know him more before they trusted each other completely.

After changing into his clothes he went into the library and grabbed his book on calligraphy. His lessons were going well according to his Jiji, who also studied the art and he felt if he kept up with his pace he would definitely be able to pass when the six month limit was up. He collected the book, brush, ink and empty scrolls to write on and headed out the door towards the park. While his grounds were nice to train on Naruto liked background noise while he worked, it provided an extra element to his training. Hiruzen told him that when working it wouldn't always be peaceful and he should get used to noise while he worked.

Walking through the village Naruto ignored the glares and whispers, though he still didn't understand why this happened every time he went through the village. Once he got to the park he found a tree along the edge of the area and sat down placing his things around him. Carefully he began going through his drills and slid his brush across that page, the hardest part of it for Naruto was keeping the pace. He wanted to go as fast as possible but if he speeds up to fast he ruined the kanji and had to start again.

"What are you doing?" Naruto looked up to see a boy his age standing in front of him.

He was a fair skinned child with dark black hair that stuck out behind his head and bangs that fell to frame his face. He was wearing a grey short sleeved shirt with a high collar and dark blue shorts with matching sandals. He was looking at Naruto curiously.

"It's calligraphy" the boy moved closer and squatted down to look at the scroll Naruto was working on.

"What's it for?"

"It's part of my fuinjutsu training" the boy perked up at the word training.

"Really, I've never heard of fuinjutsu. Is it like Ninjutsu" Naruto smiled.

"Kind of, it involves making seals to do cool stuff like storage scroll, exploding tags and other things" the boy sat down in front of Naruto and turned the scroll to look at it.

"Cool, I'm training to be a shinobi to just like my dad and big brother. Are your parent's shinobi?" he watched as Naruto frowned.

"My mom was but both my parents are dead" the boy flinched at the news and looked down.

"Oh, I'm sorry" they sat there for a minute in silence before the boy stuck his hand out.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha by the way" Naruto smiled and took the boys hand.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"So what other stuff do you train in? My dad's teaching me in our families Taijutsu style right now."

"Well I don't have a style yet but I train my body so I'll be in shape for when I go to the academy and will learn one there".

"Cool" the boys sat and talked for a while about different things, Naruto was happy he was finally making a friend his age. It was going well until Naruto noticed a women walking towards them, she had similar features to Sasuke but her hair went all the way down to her shoulders. She wore a shirt the same color as his but a black skirt that went to her knees and a cream colored apron over it.

"Sasuke, who is your friend?"

"Mom this is Naruto, he wants to be a shinobi like me too. He's learning this thing called Fuinjutsu." The boy said excitedly to his mother.

Naruto started to feel nervous when the woman approached, the few times he started talking to kids his age to make friends they were always taken away when their parents saw who he was. He was surprised when the woman looked at him and smiled.

"Well that it is wonderful, I hear Fuinjutsu is a very tough thing to learn. You must be very smart Naruto" the boy blushed slightly from the praise.

"Umm, well I just started so I'm not very good yet"

"Well still it is impressive to see a young boy learning such a difficult thing. Sasuke here could use improvement on his handwriting" she reached down and ruffled Sasuke hair

"Mom, stop" he wined and pushed her hands away, he didn't want to be embarrassed in front of his new friend.

Naruto couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the interaction between the to, while he knew about his mother some it didn't make up for the fact she was gone.

"Hey mom can Naruto come to our house so I can show him my Taijutsu?" Naruto looked at Sasuke with wide eyes, his mother however nodded

"Of course he can". Sasuke smiled and jumped up

"Awesome, come on Naruto" he held his hand out to the blonde and Naruto sat their looking at it for a second before he smiled and took it. Sasuke helped Naruto collect his things and the trio headed out to the Uchiha home.

**==================== Uchiha Compound ====================**

Naruto watched amazed as Sasuke went through the kata's of his families style, while they were the same age Sasuke seemed more skilled then him. He had told Naruto about his family's style, the Interceptor Fist, and how it relied on speed and stamina to beat an opponent. Mikoto, Sasuke mom, had explained to him about their family bloodline the Sharingan and how it made it possible for them to anticipate a person's movements. Needless to say Naruto was in awe of it and a tad bit jealous.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Dinner is ready!" the boys turned to see Mikoto waving at them to come in. he quickly ran into the house and towards the table.

"I know you two aren't going in their without washing your hands" the boys froze and started to chuckle. Sasuke lead Naruto to the bathroom and after they washed up the two sat at the table. Mikoto started to bring in the food and Naruto licked his lips at the delicious aroma.

"I see we have a guest" Naruto turned his head to see a man walking into the room.

"Yes dear this is Naruto Uzumaki" Naruto stood up from his chair and bowed to Fugaku.

"It is nice to meet you" Fugaku gave Naruto a smile and bowed his head.

"It is nice to meet you as well Uzumaki-san" they both sat into their seats and they all started to eat. Naruto was trying hard not to devour the food as fast as possible; ever since Ageha left he hadn't had a good home cooked meal like this.

"So Sasuke how was your training today?"

"It was good father, I half the kata's you taught me down" Fugaku nodded

"Good, I expect you to have the rest down soon. We will start you shuriken training after that" the boy smiled and nodded excitedly while Fugaku turned his attention the Naruto.

"Are you interested in becoming a shinobi as well Naruto?"

"Yes sir".

"That's good; the Uzumaki's were a powerful clan. May I ask what training you are going through" Naruto put down his silverware and wiped his mouth.

"I've started doing calligraphy in preparation for fuinjutsu and am starting a basic workout routine before I start Taijutsu and Kenjutsu training" Fugaku nodded sagely.

"Ah yes if I remember correctly the Uzumaki's are famous for their skills in both Fuinjutsu and Kenjutsu".

"What's Kenjutsu father?"

"Kenjutsu Sasuke, are techniques involving swords" Sasuke looked at Naruto wide eyed.

"Cool" Naruto grinned and blushed lightly at the attention.

The rest of dinner was peaceful and filled with talk about everyday life and questions about Naruto. After dinner Mikoto walked Naruto home and had to explain to Hayate, who Naruto forgot to tell he was going out, that Naruto had been with them all afternoon. Naruto went to sleep that night with a smile on his face, today he made his first real friend and his parents were okay with him. Mikoto had even told him he was welcome to come over whenever he wanted to play.

Sasuke was having similar thoughts, his father had never been so nice to anyone he played with. Usually he said they were beneath them, the village elite, but today he talked to Naruto like he was a normal child. He even told Sasuke to invite Naruto over more to play or train because he would be a good rival. That made Sasuke happy and he couldn't wait to introduce Naruto to his big brother.


	4. Chapter 4

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

"**Demon"**

"**Jutsu/Techniques"**

"_Writings"_

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Naruto.**

**roboguy45: Yes she is aware but is okay with the plan because Sasuke is getting a friend.**

**=================== Uzumaki Compound ===================**

Naruto reached over a slapped his alarm clock as it began to screech into his ear. He stood up and began to stretch; despite the early wake up he was excited for the day's events. For the past four years he had been slowly but surely going through the different training scrolls in his library. His physical training had changed his nine year old body to almost solid muscle and he had become extremely flexible and agile. He walked over to his dresser and pulled on a black muscle shirt and black ANBU style pants, after dressing he walked into the kitchen to see Hayate eating a piece of toast.

"Morning Naruto, ready for training?" Hayate and Naruto had become quite close in the past few years, Naruto often asked for his advice on training. While Naruto could be too active for Hayate at sometimes the calm moments they had together were nice.

"Yup I can't wait to start" Naruto said excitedly, today was the first day of his Kenjutsu training. While he wasn't going to start learning any techniques Hayate was going to teach him the basic's for him to practice.

"Alright you grab something to eat and I'll meet you out back" he turned and walked out the back door. Naruto quickly made himself something to eat and had to keep calm so he didn't choke from eating to fast so he could start training. Grabbing his training scrolls and sandals he slipped them on and ran to the back yard to see Hayate going through a set of drills with his sword, Naruto stopped and quietly watched as Hayate danced around the yard. After a minute he noticed Naruto and placed his katana back into its sheath, he walked over to a box on the ground and waved Naruto over.

"Alright Naruto before you can get your own sword or start on learning the Uzumaki Style you need to get a feel for a sword." He reached down and opened the long box to reveal two dark wooden Bokken; both looked to be forty inches in length total. Naruto looked at the weapons with a small smile and gentle reached out and picked one up. He ran his hands all across the wooden sword, looking for nicks or rough patches but found it to be smooth it also seemed far heavier than it should be. Hayate noticed the confused look Naruto gave the sword as he lightly swung it around.

"I see you noticed the odd weight, I had these made with a piece of metal in the middle. It weighs the same as a standard katana, this will help you get used to the weight and when we switch to real blades the weight won't through you off" Naruto nodded and tried to reenact some of the moves he had watched Hayate doing moments ago. Hayate was slightly impressed with Naruto's movements; most eight year olds wouldn't be able to things like that yet.

"Alright Naruto break out your scroll and start your drills, ill observe and give you advice from the side." The blonde nodded and pulled the scroll from his side; he placed the Bokken down and unrolled the scroll to go over his drills.

Since it was a beginner scroll it involved him doing basic things like thrusts and different strikes multiple times to get used to them. For two hours Naruto stood in the backyard working on his grip and practicing the different attacks, his arms felt heavy and he was covered in sweat but a smile never left his face.

"Alright Naruto let's call it a day, hit the showers and change or you're going to be late". Naruto nodded and ran over to the box and placed the Bokken back down before rushing into the house. Peeling off his clothes he tossed them into a pile around his clothes hamper and ran into the shower to wash of the mornings grim. After he dried off he through on his normal clothes, grabbed two scrolls and headed into the living room.

"Here's your lunch Naruto" Hayate walked in and handed Naruto a blue bento box.

"Thanks Hayate" he took the box and pulled one of his scrolls out and unrolled it on the floor. It had a storage seal drawn on it and Naruto placed the box over it before channeling his chakra into it and sealing the box.

"You've gotten good with drawing those, I can't tell the difference between yours and a store bought one".

Naruto's skill with Fuinjutsu had reached amazing levels; he could already create storage scrolls that could hold hundreds of pounds, basic illumination seals that would glow when activated like a flashlight and, much to his and the Hokage's distress, explosive tags. Of course with Naruto's drive and family scrolls all of his seals were more powerful than regular ones, he had nearly blown up a large section of the compound wall when he was working on his explosive tags.

"Thanks, pretty soon I should be starting on the more advanced level ones." He grabbed the scroll and headed out the door for the village, he casually made his way down the streets not even bothering to look at the villagers as he passed bye. In the last few years since he befriended Sasuke he no longer cared what anyone thought of him, the Uchiha and his family were nice to him and that's all that mattered to him.

He soon found himself in front of a large red brick building, it seemed worn from being around a long time but didn't have a sign of damage. It was a large circular building that rose into the air for three stories and had the kanji for fire inside a large circle, this was the Ninja Academy. He looked around the large training field that surrounded the academy to see many children his age standing with their families, some standing in groups together. He recognized some of the clan families from their fathers, he had met a few in passing while with his Jiji, but others seemed to be civilians. Finally his eyes stopped on a familiar dark haired family, he started walking towards them and waved to Sasuke when he got closer.

Sasuke had changed over the years in many of the same ways as Naruto, he was taller but instead of muscle like his friend Sasuke had a lean body like a runner. His clothing had changed to a black short sleeve shirt with a high collar and the Uchiha clans crest on the back, a blue pair of shorts and blue shinobi sandals.

"Hey Sasuke, Mikoto-san, how are you?" the two raven haired Uchiha''s smiled at him and Mikoto bent down and gave him a hug.

"We are fine Naruto-kun, how about you? Ready for your first day of school?" he nodded his head and smiled, receiving one in return.

"I just hope they teach us something useful and not waste our time with boring stuff" Sasuke said while looking around the yard. Naruto walked over and slapped him on the back.

"Don't worry about it, no matter what we learn we get to train after school anyway" he grinned at his friend and Sasuke huffed, he didn't like wasting his time with pointless things like school when he could be training. The only reason he didn't try and get out of it was that it let him hangout with Naruto more.

"Well you boys better get inside and find a seat" Mikoto gave them a gentle push towards the door and waved as the two disappeared into the building.

The boys found their classroom quickly and walked inside, the classroom was rather large with a blackboard mounted on the wall right in front of the teacher's desk. The desks were mounted to the floor and had enough room for two to sit at one, they were all set up in an auditorium style seating so every student could see the board and not have their vision blocked. Naruto looked at the room for a moment before Sasuke nudged him and pointed to an empty desk over by the window on the third row.

After taking their seats Sasuke zoned out looking through the window while Naruto looked around the room. He knew that many of the clans had children in his age group so he decided to look for them. The first one he noticed was a girl with short blue hair with two long strands falling down to her chin framing her face. She was wearing a long sleeve tan jacket, with white fur around the bottom and ends of the sleeves, and black pants that ended just past her knees. Naruto noticed her normally white eyes had a hint of purple in them making them look lavender.

"_That must be the Hyuga clan heir" _he watched as she quickly moved to a seat and sunk down into it as far as she could. She was soon joined by a boy wearing a large light tan overcoat with a high collar hiding most of his face. The only features Naruto could see were a pair of sunglasses and his dark brown bushy hair. He wasn't sure who the boy was but the Hyuga girl turned to talk to him. He shrugged and started to look around again and heard some snoring behind him.

He turned around and saw a dark haired boy with his head down one the desk. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail the spiked out and Naruto noticed the Nara clan symbol on his grey short sleeve shirt. Next to him sat a large boy was snacking away on a bag of chips, his arms were entirely wrapped in bandages that went all the way up to the sleeves of his green over shirt. He had a cream colored shirt on underneath and Naruto could barely make out a clan symbol of some kind on it. He was wearing a white scarf that wrapped around his neck several times but didn't cover his mouth, his cheeks had small spirals on them and he wore a blue bandana like Hayate, the only difference was the he had a spike of brown hair coming out each side of his head.

"_He's probably an Akimichi and the kid next to him a Nara, Jiji told me their families and the Yamanaka's are all good friends."_ Suddenly the door was kicked open and a wild looking boy walked in, he was wearing a grey over jacket with black fur around the edges and had the hood up, his right leg was wrapped on his thigh over his brown pants. His cheeks had a red fang painted on each and his black eyes darted around the room. Naruto noticed a small white puppy on the boys head, he wasn't sure what type it was but it too looked at everyone around the room and began to sniff. When Naruto saw the dog he knew the boy had to be an Inuzuka.

He watched as the rest of the children started to file into the room and take their seats. None of them really stuck out as clan members but he knew most shinobi were originally civilians.

"Come on Ino, I want to get a good seat" Naruto looked to see a pink hair girl pulling a blonde girl into the room. The pinkette was dressed in a red qipao dress with white circular designs on it and a pair of green shorts underneath. Naruto looked curiously at her bright pink hair, it wasn't a color he had seen before and it went well with her green eyes. The blonde girl caught Naruto's attention more though, dressed in a purple sleeveless top that stopped at her waist and a large collar the spilled onto her shoulders. Her arms were covered from her wrist's to half way up her bicep with white arm sleeves, her stomach and legs were wrapped in bandages and she wore a purple skirt over them. She had platinum blonde hair that she had in a ponytail that went down to her lower back and sky blue eyes.

"Calm down Sakura, I'm sure will find seats" the two girls moved across the room and sat in the desk at the bottom of his and Sasuke row, he noticed the blonde look around the room and when her eyes fell on Sasuke and him they went wide. She quickly pulled Sakura to her and whispered in her ear, the girl turned and blushed before turning back and whispering to Ino.

Naruto cocked his head in confusion and was going to ask Sasuke what they were doing but stopped when two men walked into the room. Both were dressed in the normal Konoha shinobi attire of matching dark blue pants and long sleeve shirts with green flak jackets signifying they were at least Chunin in rank. One walked to stand in the middle of the room with a black book in his hand; he was average height and build. He has brown hair that was in a ponytail, dark brown eyes and a scar that runs across the bridge of his nose.

"Alright everyone please quiet down" he held his hand up for silence and after a moment all the student stopped talking and focused on him. "Thank you, my name is Iruka but you can just call me Iruka-sensei. I will be in charge of teaching you for the next four years, This is Mizuki and he will be helping out with your physical training" the man moved forward and gave everyone a small nod, his build was similar to Iruka's and he had shoulder-length, white hair that has a slight hint of blue to it and green eyes. After he moved back Iruka opened up his book

"Alright I'm going to call roll, please answer when I call your name." he began rattling off names alphabetically by last name. Naruto watched each child raise their hands as the names were called and made sure to catch all of the clan children's names.

"_So Shino Aburame, Choji Akimichi, Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shikamaru Nara" _he looked down the row at Ino and Sakura, he didn't recognize Sakura's last name so he assumed she was a civilian.

"Sasuke Uchiha" Naruto looked shocked when every girl turned and looked at Sasuke, blushing slightly.

"Here" he answered in a cool aloof manner, which made all the girls swoon and Naruto snort at his friend's obvious boredom. He watched Iruka make a check motion and then pause for a moment before he shook his head and cleared his throat.

"Naruto Uzumaki" his voice was lower than when he spoke the others.

"Here" he watched as Iruka made a check and didn't bother to look up from the page.

"_Well it seems even my sensei has a problem with me, isn't that just great. I had better tell Hayate and Jiji." _

"Here" Naruto drew his attention back to the class to see Ino waving her hand. He had missed her last name but seeing how she was last and the Yamanaka heir hadn't been called yet it was her. Shrugging and deciding to find out later he focused on Iruka as he placed his book down on the desk.

"Alright, now today were going to discuss the founding of the village". Both Naruto and Sasuke let out a groan, Naruto because he had already studied the village history and Sasuke because he could care less about history.

**=================== One year later =========================**

Naruto jumped back to avoid the overhead strike from Hayate and pushed forward when he landed hoping to catch him off guard. Hayate however was far more skilled than the boy and brought his Bokken up faster than Naruto could see and thrust it into his stomach, knocking the air out of him and making him fall to his knees. Hayate placed the blade like side of the Bokken on the side of Naruto's neck.

"I win" he grinned as Naruto let out a moan of disappointment. Hayate was a strict teacher and didn't go easy on Naruto, he figured it would help get Naruto stronger faster and increase his pain tolerance. So far in the past year since he had started his sword training Naruto had three broken arms, two broken legs, fourteen cracked ribs, a broken collar bone and a cracked skull. Normally this would detour a child from wanting to train more but Naruto worked harder after each injury, it didn't help that Naruto healed at an unnatural speed so these injuries barley kept him out of training.

"You know one of these days Hayate-sensei, it's going to be you on the ground looking up at me" he slowly rose to his feet and rubbed his stomach to ease the pain.

"You say that every day and I've yet to even feel pressured when fighting you" he smirked at the blonde and walked over to place his Bokken in the box before turning towards the house as Naruto mumbled under his breath.

Naruto walked over and placed his Bokken in the box before closing it and bringing it inside with him; he placed it just inside the door and removed his sandals. He walked past Hayate, lying on the couch, and went into his library, it still felt odd for him to refer to it as his but that's what it was. He walked and sat down at the desk and looked over the fuinjutsu scroll he had pulled out earlier, his past year of study had gone better than he could have hoped for and he had moved to a more advanced level. Currently he was learning how to create a chakra suppression seals, paralysis seals and flash tags. He let out a sigh and looked at the clock on the wall above the door, he didn't have to go anywhere today till two because the Academy was closed.

Over the past year Naruto had been going to the class every day, he did all the assignments, read all the texts and took notes but when it came to the test he would always fail somehow. He suspected foul play seeing as the teachers didn't like him but couldn't find evidence. Finally after the last test Naruto told Hayate about it and he informed the Hokage, after an investigation it turned out that Mizuki was placing Naruto in a genjutsu secretly and making him see the wrong questions. He was fired and Hiruzen had decided to review all of the teachers to be sure there was no other mistreatment was going on.

What really made him mad was no one would answer his question of why Mizuki did it or why the other teachers and civilians gave him such nasty looks. Hiruzen had told Naruto not to worry about it and that he would explain one day, that made him mad but he walked off knowing he wouldn't get an answer from the old man. So for the past week he dived into his training trying to forget everything and clear his mind but it wasn't working. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it and stood up and began to pace. He began to try and connect the dots of what he knew.

"_Okay let's see all of the kids in class are told not to hang out with me but don't ever say why. So no one our age knows why, meaning it's something that happened when I was young but what? I mean the only thing I know of is when the Kyubi attacked." _He paused in his thoughts and remembered all the whispers he heard when people thought he wasn't listening, of calling him demon and blaming lost ones on him. Things started to add up in his head, he healed faster than anyone he knew, his whisker marks and how he had better senses then everyone but Kiba. He quickly ran from the room and towards the door barely stopping to put on his sandals.

"Hey Naruto why the hurry" Hayate sat up from the couch to see the blonde shaking as he put on his sandals "You okay Naruto?"

The boy didn't turn to answer, his mind moving a mile a minute as he ran out the door towards the Hokage tower. Hayate was worried about Naruto's actions so he quickly put his sandals on and chased after the boy. Naruto ran as fast as he could, not even bothering to try and dodge people just running right through them. He eventually got to the tower and rushed up the stairs and towards the Hokage office, the secretary saw him running and opened her mouth to speak but Naruto threw the door open and looked at Hiruzen.

Hiruzen was startled when his door suddenly flew open and raised an eyebrow when he saw Naruto standing there breathing heavily. His secretary stood behind the boy confused and the ANBU had come out of hiding when the door flew open.

"Stand down, Naruto what's wrong" he stood up and began to move around his desk towards the boy.

"Jiji, can I speak to you alone please" fear and sadness were clear in his voice as he spoke. Hiruzen looked up at the ANBU and nodded to them, taking the message they walked out and closed the door behind them. Hiruzen guided the boy to a chair and then walked around to his seat.

The two sat in silence, Hiruzen not sure of why Naruto was upset and Naruto trying to collect his thoughts.

"Jiji, do you remember when I asked you why everyone hated me" he didn't look up as he spoke. Hiruzen stiffened.

"Yes I do" he was worried but waited to see where this was going.

"Does it have to do with the Kyubi?" Naruto heard a sigh escape the man's lips and looked up at him.

"Naruto, what I'm about to tell you is an S rank secret, do you understand?" Naruto nodded as the Hiruzen removed his hat.

"I am sure you know of the Kyubi attack from school but that story is a lie. You see the Kyubi is actually a beast made entirely of chakra there is no way to kill it. Instead you must seal the beast's away." He took out his pipe and began to pack it "When the Kyubi attacked we thought we were done for but my successor the Fourth Hokage gave his life to use a powerful jutsu that sealed the Kyubi" he lite the pipe and turned to Naruto.

"The problem was that he had to seal the beast inside of a living being".

"It's in me isn't it?" his voice was small and quiet but Hiruzen nodded.

"Yes, by sealing it in a child your chakra coils undeveloped they were able to handle the Kyubi's chakra and grow with it present" he took a drag of his pipe.

"It was his wish that you be seen as a hero for holding the beast but unfortunately people only see it and not you. I created a law saying that anyone who speaks of the Kyubi will die, I did so hoping that you could grow up and have a normal life."

"Things didn't turn out so well huh, Jiji?" the man shook his head.

"No" he turned and looked at the boy "How do you feel?"

"Honestly, I'm more relieved than anything. I've always wondered why people hated me and now I know."

"Do you hate them for it" the boy let out a sigh.

"Yes and no, I'm mad they are blaming me for something I had no control over but at the same time I'm a constant reminder of what they lost that day." Hiruzen nodded and took another puff of his pipe.

"Why did he pick me Jiji?"

"Who can say Naruto, he might have done it because he knew as an Uzumaki you would grow to learn fuinjutsu and that would help you in keeping the seal strong. Or you could have been the only child there was in the hospital, we will never know." The blonde nodded and silence filled the room again.

"Do you hate Minato for what he did?"

"I don't know, I mean sure it's his fault my life is like this but at the same time if he didn't pick someone everybody would have died. An Uzumaki does make a logical choice like you said" he rose from his seat and began to leave.

"I just need to be alone for a while, Jiji" Hiruzen nodded and watched as Naruto left the room. He didn't like lying to the boy but at the same time something's needed to be kept secret. As the ANBU walked in he noticed Hayate behind them.

"He knows now Hayate" the man let out a sigh and sat down from Hiruzen.

"How did it go sir?"

"Better than I could have hoped, he understands it's sealed inside him and he is not it. He doesn't hate the villagers but I doubt he's going to forgive them anytime soon. All we can do is wait and watch." Hayate nodded and let out a sigh, he knew Naruto was going to want to let out a lot of steam tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

"**Demon"**

"**Jutsu/Techniques"**

"_Writings"_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with Naruto.**

**====================== Konoha ====================**

Hayate made his way down the tower stairs and thought about what to do. He was sure that Naruto was going to be in a bad mood so he should do something for him. Walking down the streets he nodded at the few people that said hello and made his way towards the one place he knew would cheer up Naruto. At the end of the street was a large Ramen stand, it was a small building with blue banners with the name written across it hanging down before the entrance way. He slid the door open and noticed no one was inside yet so he walked to the counter and sat at one of the stools.

"Welcome back Hayate-san, how are you?" Hayate looked up to see a young women walking from the back to him. This was Ayame daughter of the store owner and one of the few people in the village who liked Naruto. She was a slender girl with long, brown hair and coal eyes, with fair skin. She wears a white robe with the sleeves folded, a sort of dark blue apron with ribbon ties at the top and a bright white bandanna.

"I'm alright Ayame; I was hoping to get an order to go." Ayame smiled and reached into her apron to pull out a small notebook.

"Of course what will you have?"

"Can I get two chicken, five miso, three beef and a pork ramen please?" Ayame nodded as she scribbled down all of the orders.

"I take it Naruto-kun is hungry today?" she had a smile on her face as she thought about the young blonde. Every time he came here he always treated her like a big sister and she was happy for it since she was an only child and her mother had died when she was young. Hayate however sighed when she said that.

"I'm not sure, he's not in the best mood right now and I'm hoping some ramen will help"

"What happened?" she lowered the pad to the counter and looked at Hayate with a worried look.

"He found out about his burden" he said between coughs.

She let out a gasp and brought her hand to her mouth "Is he alright? How did it happen? Who told him?"

"I think he's fine, he discovered it on his own and went to talk to the Hokage. By the time I got there he was in the middle of talking and I waited outside, afterwards he left. I figured I would get him some ramen for lunch." Ayame nodded and calmed down some, she ripped the paper from the pad and stuck it on the little window leading to the back.

"Dad big order" a face popped into the window and smiled at Hayate.

"Ah Hayate-san good to see you. Where's young Naruto?" the man was Teuchi, owner of Ichiraku Ramen and father of Ayame. Teuchi was an older man with tan wrinkled skin; he wore a small hat covering his greying hair.

"He's out and about Teuchi, I was just telling Ayame that he figured out about his tenant today so I'm hoping ramen will cheer him up some." He let out a sigh as he finished, wondering how many times he would have to tell this story today.

"Well that's not good, how did it happen" the man had walked around from the back and leaned against the counter.

"Somehow he figured it out on his own and went to the Hokage about it"

"Well you let us know if there is anything we can do for him alright?" Teuchi turned around and headed back to the kitchen to begin making the orders.

"Will do"

**=================== Uzumaki Compound =====================**

A lone ANBU appeared in front of the Uzumaki compound gates and walked towards them. Word had spread quickly through the ANBU ranks that Naruto had been in the Hokage office and now knew of his burden. Neko had been one of the first told, everyone knew of her relationship with Naruto, and immediately she speed off to check on him. Reaching the gate she pushed on it to find it sealed shut, ever since he started school Naruto had learned to use the security seals and thus they were always locked from anyone but Naruto if closed. She reached over to the intercom they had installed years ago and pushed the button.

"Naruto it's Neko, are you there?" she waited for a few seconds before she pushed the button again.

"Come on Naruto, I know you're in there." Again she waited a few seconds before pushing it again.

"Please let me in Naruto." After a few seconds a glowing seal appeared on the door, after it faded the doors opened slightly and she pushed them open. She walked up the path to the front door and walked inside; taking off her sandals at the front she looked around to see no one there. She slowly walked into the hall, making her way towards the library to see if Naruto was in there but again she found no one.

Figuring he was in his room she turned and walked to the end of the hall and looked at his door to see it slightly ajar. She quietly pushed it open and saw that the lights were off, taking a second to let her eyes adjust to the dimly lit room she saw Naruto curled up on his bed and walked across the room to him. She sat down on the bed with his back facing her and gentle started to rub his back.

"Are you okay?" he simply nodded his head but scooted back some so she was closer to him. They sat in silence for a while the only noise was the occasional sniffle from Naruto; she assumed he had been crying.

"Hey Naruto, you home!" Neko stopped and turned to the door after hearing a male voice. She ruffled Naruto's hair and got up from the bed to see who was here. She made her way down the hall to the living room but did not see anyone, she turned and looked into the kitchen and found Hayate unloading containers from a box.

For once she was glad she had to wear her mask at all times, Hayate was the best swordsman in the village after Kushina died and while she wouldn't say she was a fan girl Neko had a crush on the man. She knew he was watching over Naruto but she had yet to ever come in contact with the man because of her busy ANBU schedule. She was lost in thought as Hayate turned and saw her.

"Ah Neko-san hello, come to check on Naruto?" he smiled at her and she felt her cheeks burn slightly.

"Um ah yes! I heard about what happened earlier and wanted to check on him." She was mentally berating herself for getting tongue tied.

"How is he?" Hayate was wondering why she seemed nervous and was worried it had to do with Naruto.

"I'm not sure; he wasn't speaking and is just lying in his room in the dark." She decided not to mention Naruto might have been crying.

"Well hopefully some ramen will cheer him up" he smiled and took one of the containers with him as he started to head towards Naruto's room. He saw Naruto on the bed, his back still facing the door and knocked on the door to let his presence be known.

"Hey Naruto, are you hungry? Ayame and Teuchi sent over some ramen for you." He popped open the container, knowing Naruto had a strong sense of smell and waved the aroma towards him. Hayate smiled when he saw Naruto stiffen and heard the boy sniffing the air. After a minute he rolled over and stood up from the bed and quietly walked past the two, getting small smiles from both, and into the kitchen.

Hayate and Neko followed him and sat around the counter in the kitchen watching Naruto slowly eat his meals. Both were worried about the blonde, it was odd to see him so sad and depressed. Hayate let out a sigh, stood up from his seat and walked around the counter towards Naruto. The boy was so lost in his own world that he didn't notice Hayate walking towards him from behind, Neko watched in confusion as Hayate stood behind Naruto and suddenly popped him in the head.

"OW! What the hell!" Naruto dropped his fork and grabbed his head in pain. Hayate began to chuckle and Neko smiled under her mask.

"So you can speak and here I thought you had gone mute" Hayate chuckled as Naruto glared at him.

"Why did you hit me?" he voice was full of anger and frustration.

"Because you need to let out your emotions and not bottle them up. We're here to help you not sit around watching you mope like a baby" Hayate crossed his arms and stared down at Naruto.

"Well excuse me for learning I have a fucking demon in my gut today and being upset about it." He started to turn around when Hayate grabbed his shoulder.

"And I'm sorry for that but you need to vent these feelings and not hold them in." he lifted Naruto by his shirt and carried the blonde outside, kicking and struggling to break free.

"Let me go Hayate, come on this isn't funny!" despite his plea Hayate held strong and brought Naruto outside with him to the training area, Neko followed behind both amused and worried about the tactic.

Hayate finally reached the training area and tossed Naruto down on the far end and stood in a relaxed stance facing the boy. Naruto was angry at how Hayate had just manhandled him so as soon as he landed he quickly rose up and faced Hayate. He saw how relaxed the shinobi was and charged at him full speed, when he got in range he quickly started to throw a combination of punches trying to hit the man but Hayate easily dodged the assault. For several minutes Naruto kept his assault going throwing strike after strike just trying to hit him at all, Neko watched from the sidelines and shook her head at the scene. Eventually Naruto dropped to his knees sweaty and gasping for breath as Hayate walked over to him and kneeled down.

"Feeling better?" Naruto nodded and fell back so he was staring up into the sky.

"Sorry". Hayate chuckled as he stood up and walked towards the house.

"It's alright, just get back to your normal self soon kid". Neko walked over and squatted down next to the boy.

"You okay Naruto-kun?"

"Yes Neko-nee-chan, I was just upset about learning everything so fast, I just had to clear my head." He sat up and gave her a kind smile. She reached over and gave the boy a hug before she got up and turned towards the house.

"Well good, I need to go back to work but I'll see you later okay" after reciving a nod she disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Naruto took a breath and let out a sigh; he stood up and brushed of all of the dirt on his clothes before walking back into the house and looking up at the clock. He had told Sasuke he would come over at two and it was a few minutes till so he grabbed his sandals and headed towards the Uchiha compound.

He soon got to the compound and waved at the two gate guards, getting a nod in return, before making his way to the main house. He always enjoyed going to the Uchiha compound because no many of the clan members looked at him harshly, while everyone wasn't friendly they didn't give him the glares the villagers did. He shrugged it off and made his way up the walkway to Sasuke house and knocked on the door. Soon it opened to reveal Mikoto.

"Hello Naruto-kun, here to see Sasuke?" she smiled sweetly at him as he nodded his head and she moved out of the doorway.

"Well he's in the back working with Itachi, go on out". Naruto gave her a smile and made his way through the house and out the back door towards the training area in the back. The Uchiha training area was different from his own, where his was a large open area surrounded by trees theirs had a large lake on one side and wasn't as clear. Naruto and Sasuke liked to take turns training together in the different fields so they could get used to different environments. As he got closer he heard the thumps of kunai sinking into wood and came upon the scene of Sasuke and his brother practicing throwing kunai.

Itachi noticed Naruto and waved slightly, he was a young man with onyx eyes, and jet-black hair that was pulled back with a red band in a low ponytail which extended to his shoulder blades. His clothes consisted of a black shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back with bandages around his ankles and black sandals. He also wore tan pants with a weapons pouch strapped to his back. Naruto knew that he was an ANBU member but just as he didn't know Neko's real name he had no idea what mask Itachi wore.

Itachi was always kind to Naruto and was happy that his brother had finally found a friend. Ever since Naruto and Sasuke had become friends Itachi had made more of an effort to help the two with their training. As Naruto got closer Sasuke became aware of his presence and waved to the blonde.

"Hey thought you had forgotten" he grinned when Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I forget to come over one time and you keep bringing it up geez" the two chuckled as Naruto stopped next to Sasuke and looked over at the targets. The targets were not the normal circular targets but ones shaped like the human body standing straight up with arms down at the side, the two had been able to hit the bull's eye on normal targets for a while now and Itachi had decided to teach them to hit vital areas on a person.

"It keeps you humble" Naruto rolled his eyes again and looked to the training field.

"Well we going to train or you going to waste my time" he smiled at Sasuke as the raven haired boy grinned back.

"You seem eager for me to beat you into the ground."

"Please, we both know you only win when I don't use my Kenjutsu". Sasuke couldn't argue with that fact, while he and Naruto had been training for around the same amount of time the types of training gave them different strengths. Naruto was the stronger than Sasuke but lacked a real Taijutsu style so Sasuke usually dominated the battles, however when Naruto would use his Bokken Sasuke couldn't handle the weapon and usually was on the losing end.

"Whatever whiskers" Sasuke smirked as he walked past his friend. While they were friends the two usually teased each other for the fun of it. A tick mark appeared over Naruto's eye at the name but turned into a fox like grin as he turned to face his friend.

"Bring it on Duck butt" he taunted referring to Sasuke's hair style and earning him a glare from the boy. With a growl he launched himself at his blonde friend and the two began to wrestle around on the ground earing a small smile from Itachi as he watched the boy's antics.

**================ Hokage Office =====================**

Hiruzen puffed on his pipe as he looked at the three figures in front of him. He had called Danzo, Koharu and Homura to his office not long after Naruto had left to speak with them.

"I have called you three to let you know Naruto has learned about his tenant." He noted that all three, including Danzo to his surprise, raised an eyebrow and looked slightly shocked. Koharu was the first to recover and gain her composure.

"How did this happen? I thought we agreed you would tell him when we thought he was ready?" her words and expression showed that she thought Hiruzen had somehow informed the boy because of their relationship.

"We did but it seems we did not account for the boy's intelligence. After the Mizuki incident he grew more suspicious and figured everything out on his own." Koharu looked surprised again but Danzo and Homura kept a straight face.

"What was the boy's reaction?" Danzo asked while trying to keep from seeming too interested.

"To be blunt he is upset with people's reactions. While I don't believe we need to fear him running around killing villagers or fleeing Konoha, I think it will take a lot before the civilians and he get along." The elders didn't look happy about the end comment but Danzo nodded with the statement.

"Understandable. What of the beast itself?"

"He made no comment of it, I will give him time to adjust to the information and have Hayate watching over him to see if there is any change in his behavior" the three elders nodded.

"While we are here there is something I think we should discuss in private Hiruzen" Danzo looked to the corner of the room with his remaining eye, showing he knew of the hidden ANBU.

"ANBU give us the room please" two figures emerged from the shadows and made their way out of the room again. As they closed the door Hiruzen leaned back into his chair and looked at his three advisors waiting for one of them to begin.

"We are worried about the Uchiha Hiruzen, they are growing even more suspicious" Danzo spoke softly almost in a whisper as if someone might over hear him.

"I understand your concern but I assure you I have it under control." The trio exchanged concerned looks but said nothing to each other when Danzo nodded.

"Very well Hiruzen but I still think something needs to be done before they decide to act." He turned after he finished and walked out the door with Koharu and Homura in tow. Hiruzen let out a sigh as they left, he knew that if he didn't solve the situation with the Uchiha soon that it would cause problems, the only thing was how to solve it.

**============= Underneath Konoha ==============**

Danzo walked into the underground compound of root and was flanked by tiger immediately. He was in thought on how to handle the situation with the Uchiha, he knew the clan was becoming a threat to Konoha but the Sharingan was too useful to lose. He made it to his office and sat back in his seat looking up at tiger having finally when he made a decision.

"Get me Itachi" Tiger nodded and left the office quickly. After a few seconds he snapped his fingers and a blank masked root member appeared in the room.

"Hai Danzo-sama"

"Have two retrieval teams ready for an operation. I will explain more in detail later" the agent nodded and was gone as soon as he appeared. Danzo leaned back and drummed his fingers on his desk as he finalized his thoughts, a grin spreading across his face as he did.

**================== Konoha, one week later ================**

Naruto stood amongst the other shinobi of the village at Konoha's graveyard in his black outfit; everyone was wearing the same thing too. To his side were all of the clan heads and some of their children, Naruto guessed they were all here because Sasuke was in their class seeing as he didn't really hangout with any of them. He looked over at his friend, standing next to the Hokage and the village elders. The very same day Naruto had learned of his tenant Sasuke's entire family had been killed, not only that but apparently the killer was Sasuke own brother Itachi.

Itachi had been watching them train in the field when suddenly he said he had to take care of something, not thinking anything of it Naruto and Sasuke continued on. After a couple of hours Itachi came back holding a bag of clothes, he told them that Sasuke parents were going out to a dinner and they wanted Sasuke to stay at Naruto's since they did not know when they would get home. Itachi offered to take them to eat dinner before he dropped them off; of course the boys thought nothing of it and simply went along with the offer. The next morning Hiruzen and a team of ANBU showed up to Naruto's house and informed them of what had happened, Sasuke immediately ran towards his house not believing any of it and that was the last time Naruto saw him before today.

The ceremony was very nice in Naruto's opinion and he stood to the side afterwards waiting for all of the civilians to finish talking, or sucking up in his opinion, to Sasuke. Soon the only people left in the cemetery were Naruto, Sasuke, Hayate and Hiruzen so Naruto walked over and stood next to Sasuke as he looked at his parent's head stones. Neither of them said a word, they just stood there looking at the graves.

"Why did he do this Naruto?" Sasuke's voice was quiet and sounded as if he was on the verge of tears.

"I don't know"

"Why me? He sent me away with you; he had to have planned that but why?" Naruto watched as Sasuke clenched his fists in anger and began to shake, he put his hand on his friends shoulder.

"I don't know Sasuke, but I promise you we will find out" Sasuke turned and looked at Naruto, what surprised the blonde was that his normal black eyes were gone. Now he was staring into red eyes with a black iris and small broken black ring around it and a single tome on it.

"Sharingan" Naruto whispered as he stared wide eyed at his friend. Sasuke grinned not only at Naruto's reaction but also at his words.

"We?" Naruto snapped out of his surprise and looked at Sasuke with a serious face.

"I owe it to your parents to help you" Sasuke nodded and turned back to the graves. He and Naruto stood there until the sun started to set over the Hokage Monument.

**======================== Two Years Later ==================**

Naruto walked towards the academy whistling as he passed by the villagers, completely ignoring the small glares and looks from them and mental making a note of who they were. Since discovering about his tenant he made mental notes on how many and who treated him like the demon itself so that eventually if anyone need something from him he wouldn't go easy on them. He had grown in the last few years thanks to his training he now stood at 5' 3" shorter than only four other boys in his class and was muscular for a twelve year old boy. His outfit had changed slightly over the years also; he now wore a ¾ sleeve navy blue shirt that ended just below his elbows, with a red Uzumaki crest on the back, a pair of black ANBU pants and black sandals. Ever since the Uchiha massacre Sasuke had thrown him into training to get strong enough to defeat his brother and make him pay for what he did to their family. Naruto trained just as hard so that he could keep up with his friend but also he saw it as a kinship for he and Sasuke, the two were now both the last of their clans, they viewed Itachi as dead.

His fuinjutsu was at a level that he was the best fuinjutsu user in the village and, according to his Jiji, very close to the level of Jiraiya of the Sannin. Naruto assumed he just seemed that way because of the amount of seals that he now possessed but took the compliment all the same. He also had made great leaps in his Kenjutsu training, the Uzumaki style was made up of several different attack, he had mastered a few of the simple ones and was very skilled with several more, he was now able to press Hayate to use some of his own techniques.

A smile went across his face when he thought of Hayate; the man had become much like a brother to him in the last few years. He was also glad that Hayate was now dating Neko, who he had finally learned was named Yugao Uzuki, of course how he found out wasn't the best. Hayate had invited her over one night thinking Naruto was at Sasuke's when really he was studying in the library, the two started getting intimate almost as soon as she walked in the door and when Naruto walked out to get something to drink he paused and saw the two naked on the living room couch. At first Naruto was just embarrassed to have walked in on them but when Yugao had screeched "Naruto-kun" at him while they covered themselves and he saw her hair color it registered in his mind he blushed and ran from the room. After they got clothed she came into his room and talked to him about their relationship, how he couldn't tell anyone about her ANBU identity and, much to his dismay, the sex talk. Needless to say he couldn't look either of them in the face for a week.

Shaking the thoughts of her naked body from his mind, stupid hormones, Naruto entered the academy and walked over to his normal seat and pulled out the first of his Ninjutsu scrolls. His training had progressed enough that he could start going over the scroll and he was excited, Sasuke had been training mostly in Taijutsu and ninjutsu in his time and he was jealous of watching him shoot fireballs from his mouth while he couldn't do anything. It's not like he thought he would be doing things like that right off the bat but he hoped soon he could.

Sasuke had also changed since the massacre and not all for the better in Naruto's opinion. Suddenly losing his parents had made him more withdrawn from everyone, now that he was the clan heir and sole Uchiha people were always trying to get on his good side and praised him. While Sasuke at first didn't mind the praise he soon grew annoyed with it and after he saw how people ignored Naruto when with him or even insulted him when he wasn't around he was appealed by them. Naruto had decided to tell Sasuke about the Kyubi after learning about that, Sasuke took it better than Naruto thought and after a small explanation about sealing and answering some questions he never brought it up again. That had lifted a weight off of Naruto and only made them closer. Sasuke also grew annoyed with all of the fan girls, before most of the girls thought he was attractive and liked him but now parents were pushing their girls to date him so they could gain influence and power from his name. Naruto found this absolutely hilarious and made it his life goal to increase the misfortune of his friend anyway he could like telling girls what he liked, even if it was a lie, or give out locations he was going to be in.

While Sasuke hated Naruto when he did things like that secretly he was happy that his friend kept him sane. If left alone he would start remembering his family and how Itachi took them away. Naruto's hijinks took his mind away from all of that and he was happy for it.

Naruto let out a sigh and cracked open the scroll he had and began looking through it and his eyes widened when he read what it was.

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_

_Shadow clones are a technique given to the Uzumaki's from our cousin's the Senju as an offering of friendship to their new village Konohagakure. They are the panicle of all the clone techniques and one that should be practiced with extreme caution. Many people do not learn this technique until later in their lives because of the chakra requirements but we Uzumaki have higher reserves than most._

_The shadow clone is a clone that has form to it and unlike others is able to interact._ _Even sensors and dojutsu users are unable to tell the differences between shadow clones and actual people. The clones also send all information they learn back to the others when they dispel, this gives advantages for spy missions. _

_The disadvantages to shadow clones are that you divide your chakra between all of the ones you create. Meaning if you create four clones your chakra will be at a fifth of what it normally is. Also if you dispel too many clones at once you can cause severe brain damage from gaining too many memories at once. It is advised to dispel them in intervals._

Naruto stared at the page and couldn't believe what he was reading, if this was true he had just found a gold mine of a technique. He quickly rolled up the scroll and resealed it so no one would see it and ask him about it. He was going to wait until he was alone at home to practice it, Sasuke would definitely want to learn this technique but he knew that Sasuke's chakra levels were nowhere near his. Sasuke had high reserves for a student, probably better than most Genin, but Naruto knew his levels were already at mid to high Jounin level. He would have to learn the technique and master the hand seals so he could get it down to only a few so Sasuke wouldn't copy them and then try to use a skill he couldn't handle. It had already happened a few times since Sasuke had gained his Sharingan and the boy ended up in the hospital for chakra exhaustion. He had been better in the past few months about taking it easy but Naruto feared this would be a tipping point and didn't want to tempt Sasuke.

"Good morning Naruto-kun" a small voice said and Naruto looked up to see Hinata sitting in her seat across from him. She was one of the few people he actually likes in the class, while she was very nice and friendly. Her only problem was she was shy and didn't have a lot of self-esteem so she was an easy target for many of the other girls in the class.

Naruto looked over and saw that Shino was again sitting next to her, he didn't know why but Shino had seemed to take over the role of Hinata's guardian, anytime someone made fun of her or put her down they would be covered in bugs. Naruto found it hilarious, especially when it was some of Sasuke's fan girls.

"Morning Hinata-chan, Shino" the shade wearing student gave him a small nod at the greeting and went back to starring forward. Another of Naruto's favorite things to do in class was to see how many words he could get Shino to say in a day, sadly the number to beat wasn't as high as one would think.

He noticed Sasuke walk in at that point and gave the boy a mock salute.

"Morning Captain Emo sir". Sasuke let out a sigh and rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Haven't you used that joke before?"

"Probably but you have to love the classics."

Sasuke rolled his eyes again and sat down next to Naruto in his normal seat and began looking out the window. Naruto shrugged at the sudden loss of conversation and decided to observe those around the room until class started. A few minutes before class he perked up as a noise came from the hallway, it was quiet at first but soon voices and words could be heard and the door burst open as Sakura and Ino burst into the room.

"I win Ino-pig" Sakura stated with triumph as she tried to catch her breath.

"In your dream forehead" Ino tried to act just as victories but both were out of breath and struggled to stay upright. Both soon turned their attention to the far end of the room and let out a groan.

The girls were two of Sasuke's biggest fan girls and every day they attempted to race to the school and get the spot next to their idol but every day they were beat by Naruto. At first they had tried to bull Naruto into giving up the seat but when Sakura attempted to hit him Sasuke grabbed her arm and said that if anyone messed with Naruto they were messing with him to. That comment brought about a small change in the girls of the class, where they were at first mean to Naruto now they were all sucking up to him to get info and closer to Sasuke. Naruto had dubbed the girls the twin terrors because even though they weren't friends they worked together to keep the other woman at bay.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke to see him roll his eyes at the girls and an evil grin spread across his face and he leaned forward to Sasuke.

"Wonder what would happen if they knew you were eligible for the C.R.A." Naruto chuckled as he watched the color drain from Sasuke face and turn to Naruto.

"Y-y-you wouldn't dare." If Sasuke feared one thing it was his fan girls leaning of the Clan Restoration Act, as of now they all tried to tear each other apart so they would be the only one to get him but if they knew he could have multiple wives they might ban together and make his life hell. He and Naruto had recently been told about it by the clan elders, while they didn't have to worry about it until they became Genin the elders thought it a good idea they knew in advance.

Naruto burst out laughing at Sasuke reaction and almost fell to the ground but stopped when Iruka walked in the door.

"Alright, quiet down everyone. Sakura, Ino get to your seats." The girls nodded and rushed to the desk behind Naruto and Sasuke.

"Alright everyone, seeing as this is your last year were going to start with learning the Bunshin no Jutsu. It along with the Henge and Kawarimi are important for all Genin to learn." While everyone else was excited Naruto had a small grin on his face, he would leave the easy one to his classmates while he learned the Shadow clone.


	6. Chapter 6

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

"**Demon"**

"**Jutsu/Techniques"**

"_Writings"_

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Naruto.

**================ Uzumaki Compound ====================**

Naruto stood in his backyard facing his opponent, his new katana hung on his left hip. The sheath was all black with a flat finish so it would not shine in the light; if one inspected it closely they would see seals carved into the wood. He had looked up seals in his library that would make the sheath more durable and keep it protected against the elements. The guard was a dark grey that was made to look like the Uzumaki crest, with a handle wrapped in a dark red cloth.

Across from him stood a shadow clone of Hayate, in the last year Hayate had decided Naruto needed to prepare for the shinobi life so he always used a clone so Naruto could go all out and not fear using killing blows. The real Hayate stood on the side leaning against a tree watching the two stare each other down; a small smile graced his face as he thought of the past years training. Naruto had shown a great deal of skill in Kenjutsu and with his families style, even he admitted that he didn't have as much skill at Naruto's age as the blonde. He pushed off the tree and walked between Naruto and his clone.

"You ready Naruto?" he looked over to the blonde and watched as he drew his blade from the sheath and nodded at Hayate. He held the blade to his side and crouched down, putting his right foot forward. Hayate turned to his clone and received a nod as it drew its own katana and stood at the ready for Naruto's assault. Hayate held up one of his arms.

"Hajime" Hayate brought his arm down and jumped back as his clone speed towards Naruto. Its eyes widened as it watched Naruto start to fall forward; it remembered this technique and quickly put its sword down and horizontal to its body.

"**Purple Lightning Flash". ** Naruto speed forward with a speed Hayate would judge typical for a low level Chunin. His body was barely above the ground as he raced towards the clone, swinging his katana and slashing upwards towards the clone's torso. He cursed silently when his blade connected with the clones and quickly leapt to the side to avoid the counter attack. Naruto took a defensive stance and thought out his next move, the clone moved in and started going through a series of easy attacks to keep Naruto from thinking.

Hayate watched Naruto from the side to get a better judge of Naruto's increase in skill in the last year; while they had dueled together Hayate had left Naruto on his own to perfect his skills. The two continued to dance around the training ground for several minutes, trading blows and dodging attacks, Naruto seemed to hold his own but was having trouble getting the edge on the clone. Naruto grit his teeth, even though it was a clone it was still a mid to high level Chunin, he decided to try one of his new moves, even though he had yet to perfect it. He jumped back to make room between him and the clone and raised his katana above his head and dashed at the clone bringing his blade down. Hayate raised his eyebrow at the move but waited, he knew it wasn't that simple, the clone brought up his blade to block the blow and was prepared to counter.

"**Imperial Wrath" Quicker** than the clone or Hayate could notice Naruto switched the positions of his hands and changed the katana's trajectory, letting it slip right past the clones blade. He slowly sheathed his katana as the clone disappeared in a poof of smoke and the katana fell to the ground. Naruto heard clapping and turned to see Hayate walking towards him with a smile on his face.

"Well done Naruto, I must say I'm very impressed with that last attack" he reached down and collected his blade. "I'm curious as to how you broke through the guard?"

"But that would be telling Sensei" Naruto gave him a sly grin and started towards the house, chuckling as he heard Hayate mumbling about stubborn students. The two made their way into the house and Naruto immediately got into the shower to clean up before he needed to head to the academy. Today was the day of the final exam and he was more than ready to get it over with, the last year had been the most boring of all of them. Every day in class was spent going over all of the previous years and physical education to insure they were all physically fit for duty if they graduated. He chuckled to himself as he stepped into the shower; he didn't understand how that the girls in his class were going to become shinobi. Throughout the year their infatuation with Sasuke had grown and all of them spent their time dieting and trying to look their best for him. He was amazed that any of them had the physical capabilities to actually graduate from the academy.

He shook his head as he turned the shower off and began to dry off; it wasn't his job to worry about them. He walked into his room and pulled on his clothes before heading into the kitchen for a quick breakfast. He walked in to see Hayate already eating and Yugao walking about preparing food.

"Morning Yugao-neechan" he smiled and gave her a small wave as he sat down.

"Good morning Naruto-kun." She smiled back at him and started piling some food on to a plate for him and placed it down in front of him. "Are you ready for your final exam?"

"Yup!" he replied happily as he began digging into his food.

"Good, I'm sure you will pass it with flying colors" she sat down with her plate and the three fell into a comfortable silence as they finished their meals. Soon Naruto was done and he jumped up from his seat and headed for the front door.

"Bye Hayate, Nee-chan. Next time I see you I'll be a shinobi" he missed the grins on their faces as he went around the corner and put on his sandals. Once outside he ran towards the front door but instead of going through the door he ran straight up the wall and jumped into a tree from the top. Naruto had learned to use his chakra to help him climb objects a few months ago from one of his scrolls, the exercise not only helped with training his chakra control but also opened new paths for fighting. He chuckled when he remembered the first time he had used it against Sasuke, the Uchiha and he were sparring and Naruto was pushed back towards a tree and would normally have been trapped but he leapt onto it as Sasuke went to kick him. Sasuke was so surprised to see Naruto standing on the side of the tree he didn't focus and Naruto knocked him out. Of course once he came to Sasuke bugged him to teach him how to do it too.

Soon Naruto made it to the edge of the forest hiding his house and dropped down from the trees and walked through the village. While he didn't care what the villagers though any more he decided to hide all of his skill from the villagers until he needed to. He had already slowly begun his revenge against the merchants of the village, his skill with fuinjutsu was unknown to everyone but a select few and he used that to his financial advantage. He had discovered he could make a large amount of shadow clones at a time and used that to create dozens of seals a day than sold them under a fake name to the merchants of the village. He mental smirked when he thought of how the village would react if they found out the demon was the one supplying seals that protected them.

He was broken from his thoughts as a black and blue blur ran by him, blinking he noticed the back of the figure and saw the Uchiha symbol.

"Sasuke?" he said confused as he watched his friend run down the street away from the academy. Soon he heard squeals and turned to see a large dust cloud coming towards him.

"SASUKE-KUN!" he heard from multiple voices and realized Sasuke was running from his fan club, again. As they ran past him Naruto noticed that Ino and Sakura were at the head of the pack and shook his head at his classmates.

"_When will any of them learn."_ He sighed and headed back up the way they all came to get to class. He knew Sasuke was leading them in a circle and would be back just in time for the start of class. He had the routine down to a science after running from them for so long. Shaking his head with a sigh Naruto he walked through the academy doors and down the hall to his class room. When he entered he noticed more people than usual and figured everyone was excited about the final exam and wanted to make sure they were on time.

"Hey Naruto" the blonde looked up and saw Kiba waving at him from his seat "Ready to become shinobi?"

"Of course, I've been studying all year for this. Unlike some people" Naruto smirked at the last part and Kiba let out a growl.

"What's studying got to do with being a shinobi anyway? A books not going to do much good when someone is throwing kunai at me." Kiba sneered as he looked away from Naruto slightly embarrassed by his low academic grade. Naruto chuckled and walked up to his normal seat and leaned back in the chair as he waited for Iruka.

Soon the door opened and Sasuke walked into the room, sweaty and slightly out of breath. The rest of the boys all smirked at him, knowing full well what happened to him as he walked up to his seat next to Naruto.

"How was your morning jog?" he chuckled as Sasuke glared at him than stared out at the window. Moments after he walked in Sasuke's fan club came in the room, surprisingly they didn't look as tired as Sasuke, Naruto figured they all stopped after a while to clean up to look good for their crush. The girls all filed in and took their normal seats as they gave Sasuke looks of lust but were broken from their thoughts as Iruka walked into the class.

"Good morning class" he said as he placed a large stack of papers on his desk and turned to face them.

"Good morning Iruka-sensei"

"Now than I'm sure you are all excited so I will skip any long speeches and get to the test" he watched as many of the students wiggled nervously in their seats before he continued "The exam is made up of three parts, a written exam, physical test and finally a Ninjutsu test. Are there any questions?" Looking around the room he didn't see anyone rise.

"Very well, please remove everything from your desks" he picked up the papers as the students cleared their desks and began passing them out to each desk, being careful to make sure none of the student had any hidden cheat sheets. After all of the students had an exam he returned to his desk and sat behind it, keeping his eyes moving to ensure that no one was cheating.

The test was well put together in Naruto's opinion, I went over information they had learned from the first day of the academy to current things they learned just last week. Naruto had an easy enough time with the questions and after around thirty minutes he finished the exam, only losing to Shino, Shikamaru and Sakura. He flipped his test over and tried not to look around the room at who was left, while he knew Iruka was friendlier to him after the Mizuki incident he didn't want to risk failing for cheating.

He didn't have to wait much longer before the final student, Kiba, turned their test over.

"Okay, everyone seems to be done so will you all please go out and begin stretching for the physical part of the exam while I collect your tests." The students all nodded and made their way out of the class in a small mod. Naruto and Sasuke stayed seated for a minute before getting up and following behind everyone.

"So what was your opinion of the test" asked the blonde in a small voice so not to be over heard.

"Not too hard, I'll admit some of the questions got me" Sasuke said with a slight scowl, he didn't like to sound weak at something.

"I'm guessing the history questions, you always zoned out during those lessons" his friend said with a small chuckle, getting a small shove from the Uchiha.

"Like you always paid attention" Naruto turned his head and scratched the back of his head. Sasuke chuckled lightly as they made their way outside and walked slightly away from the group to begin stretching. Sasuke could feel the eyes of all the females in class on him as he began to stretch out his muscles, he rolled his eyes as he thought about them and wished they would leave him alone and take being a shinobi seriously. He wouldn't say it out loud but he found many of the girls attractive but their attitudes and actions kept him from wanting to do anything with them, like many of the villagers they were interested in his name and didn't bother to learn anything about him.

Soon Iruka came outside with a clipboard and called for everyone to gather around him.

"Your physical exam will be two parts; first I will test your accuracy than each of you will face off with me in a Taijutsu match. You do not have to win just show me what you can do. Any questions?" he again received no questions but he noticed some of the students looked worried and were whispering to each other.

"Alright everyone head over to the target area." He headed the class to one side of the field where targets were located and a few tables were setup holding kunai and shuriken were laying out. Five targets were setup across the field a few feet apart from each other and a white chalk line had been drawn across from them.

"One at a time picks up five kunai and five shuriken than stand behind the white line. You will throw your kunai first; retrieve them after everyone has thrown than repeat with the shuriken." Everyone nodded and five students moved to the table to pick up the equipment before moving the line. Group after group until everyone was done; Naruto and Sasuke were the only two able to hit the center with all five kunai and shuriken. After the final group Iruka collected the weapons and placed them back on the table before moving the class to a circular ring drawn in chalk on the ground. Iruka put down his clipboard and walked into the center of the ring.

"Alright, one at a time step into the ring and we will face off." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stop watch, than looked at all of the students before tossing it to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru please call time when it reaches three minutes."

"Troublesome. Yes sensei" the lazy boy let out a sigh as he stood next to the ring. Iruka started to call in the students alphabetically by their last names, Naruto studied his fellow students most of them had a decent understanding of the academy Taijutsu style. The clan children showed better skill with their Taijutsu but Naruto expected that much seeing as they had people to teach them outside of class. Sasuke even pressed Iruka to use more of his skill than against the other students and even managed to score a solid hit on Iruka's chin, getting cheers from all of the girls about how amazing he was.

Naruto walked into the ring as Sasuke walked out, giving Naruto a beat that look as they crossed paths. Naruto smirked at his friends attitude knowing full well that he wouldn't do better than him seeing as he focused more on Kenjutsu than Taijutsu. Once Iruka was ready and called out to begin, Naruto dashed forward and sent out a series of punches and kicks. Much like against Sasuke Iruka was impressed with the boy's skill, which he rated higher than the other student. Iruka kept on the defensive like with the others but found that Naruto was stronger than the others and decided to put some space between them to get some rest for a second. He blocked another punch to his ribs and pushed Naruto as he jumped back to gain some space but was surprised when Naruto suddenly leapt at him. Going of pure instinct he grabbed Naruto's collar and fell backwards, putting his foot into Naruto's stomach and flipping him out of the ring as Iruka landed on the ground.

Naruto was supposed by the action and hit the ground with a thud and let out a small groan as he started to stand.

"Hold on Naruto" Iruka had stood up and moved to help Naruto up "Sorry I wasn't supposed to go on the offensive like that but you caught me by surprise." He chuckled as he pulled Naruto up onto his feet.

"It's alright sensei, Hayate says I'm unpredictable sometimes" he dusted himself off as he spoke. Iruka smiled and patted his back.

"Okay well that's enough for you good job" Naruto smiled and walked back towards the group and he noticed Sasuke smirking at him and shaking his head. The blonde stood next to his friend as Ino walked into the ring for her turn.

"You really are unpredictable sometimes. Just what were you going to do if you tackled Iruka" Sasuke said with a small amount of humor in his voice. Naruto just shrugged, not really having a plan and was just going to go with the flow of things. He watched as Ino attempted to fight their teacher, like many of the girls she didn't seem that good and Naruto shook his head.

"Time sensei" Shikamaru held up the stopwatch as he spoke. Iruka and Ino stopped their fighting, the latter breathing heavily and sweating, and made their way towards the group.

"Thank you Shikamaru" he took the watch from the boy and looked to the class "Lets head back into the classroom everyone and we will begin the Ninjutsu portion of our exam" the students all looked excited as they made their way back into the classroom and took their seats. Iruka walked up to his desk and placed the stop watch down.

"Okay class I will have you come into the next room one by one and ask you to perform the Henge, Substitution and Clone jutsu's we have gone over. You exams have already been graded, if you received a passing grade and can perform all three Ninjutsu you will receive your headband. Any Questions?"

Naruto was about to raise his hand but stopped, he wanted to ask if knowing the shadow clone would be okay but decided to wait and ask in the exam so the whole class wouldn't know about them. He stretched his arms and leaned back in his chair as Iruka took one of the students out into the hall and closed the door; soon the room was alive with chatter. Minutes passed as one by one Iruka came in and called the students into the next room, Naruto noticed that no one came back into the classroom after leaving.

"_I guess that's so we don't know who passed and who failed"_ he shrugged as another student was called and he began looking around the room. It seemed that they were once again being called in alphabetically and Naruto grinned before turning to Sasuke.

"You know eventually it will be just me, you and Ino" he leaned in and whispered the last part and chuckled as Sasuke shivered. The Uchiha shot him a glare and Naruto smiled at him before looking back at the front of the class. It didn't take long for Naruto's statement to come true and he was curious in Ino would actually try and talk to Sasuke with him there. He looked out the corner of his eye and saw that she was looking at Sasuke every few seconds and fiddling with her hair. Just as it looked like she was getting the courage to say something Iruka came into the room and called Sasuke's name.

"Good luck duck butt" Naruto said with mirth in his voice.

"Like I need it whiskers" Sasuke replied with a grin and earned a small tick mark above Naruto. Soon he was out the door and Naruto looked over at a disappointed Ino, obviously she was upset she missed a chance to have Sasuke to herself. While he didn't really know her and he could care less about the girls obsession with Sasuke he didn't like to see people down.

"I wouldn't be upset Ino, he was so focused on the exam I doubt he would even talk with me" The blonde girl looked up at him as he spoke and a small smile graced her face at his words.

"Thanks Naruto" He noticed her fidget and look away before she spoke again "Say Naruto, does Sasuke ever mention me?"

Naruto let out a sigh as he thought of how to answer the question, he didn't want to be totally honest and hurt her feeling especially before the exam.

"To be honest we don't talk a lot Ino, we train that's about it. Our conversations are all about how to improve ourselves" He didn't look at her while he spoke, mostly because it was a lie and while she may not be the best at many things he knew if she was anything like her father she would see the lie. Luckily before she could speak anymore Iruka stepped in and called for Naruto. He hopped up from his seat and walked out into the hall with Iruka.

"This way Naruto" The boy followed his teacher down the hall and into an empty classroom similar to their own except the teacher's desk was by the student's desk. Iruka walked over and sat behind it than looked up at Naruto.

"Alright Naruto, please show me the Henge Jutsu" Naruto nodded and quickly transformed into the third Hokage, Iruka looked over Naruto for a second and before nodding "Very good Naruto, now drop it and preform the substitution when I throw this rubber kunai at you" he held up a black rubber kunai for Naruto to see.

Naruto nodded and dropped the illusion, he looked around the quickly to pick his target. Iruka waited a second and then threw the kunai at Naruto, when it hit Naruto poofed into smoke and when it cleared it revealed a chair. Iruka turned around and saw Naruto waving at him from one of the desks.

"Well done, now please put the chair back and come do the clone jutsu" Naruto smirked and substituted himself with the chair again, earning a small smile from Iruka. "You need to create three clones to pass Naruto"

"Umm sensei do they have to be regular clone?" Iruka raised an eyebrow at the boy and looked somewhat confused; he found it hard to believe a student could do a higher level clone technique.

"You know a different one?" Naruto decided actions were better than words and put his hands in the ram seal sign.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"** three copies of Naruto appeared in the room and all smiled and waved at Iruka, who looked at them with wide eyes. A student was able to use the most powerful clone technique there was, even he was not able to make shadow clones. He looked on in shock as the clones disappeared and Naruto waited for him to start speaking.

"Umm sensei do I pass or not" Iruka shook his head to snap out of his confused state and pulled a headband from the desk drawer than tossed it to Naruto.

"You pass Naruto congratulations" he smiled as Naruto caught the headband with a huge grin on his face. Faster that he could see the boy shot out of the room with a loud yell of victory. Iruka chuckled as he got up to retrieve Ino and finish out the day.

Naruto bolted outside the doors into the training grounds to see a large gathering of parents talking to each other and his fellow classmates. Some of the parents gave Naruto nasty looks but he shrugged it off and started to head towards his home to tell Hayate and Yugao the good news.


	7. Chapter 7

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

"**Demon"**

"**Jutsu/Techniques"**

"_Writings"_

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Naruto.**

**=============== Hokage Office =====================**

Hiruzen sat behind his desk looking over the list of passing students from this year's graduating class. Iruka had dropped it off to him earlier that day and gave him a brief overview off the student's skills. He was not happy to hear the reports of the female's attitudes in class but he couldn't do anything about it that task fell to their sensei's. He was happy to read about Naruto's good grades and based on the scores he saw that he just barley lost to Sasuke Uchiha for top male of the class. He chuckled when he thought of Naruto trying to tackle Iruka and thought of Kushina, they were far more alike than Naruto realized.

Hiruzen reached across his desk and picked up another sheet of paper that had all of the different teams and sensei's written on it. He had placed all of them teams and was happy with them but he knew their might be some problems. He looked up at the clock and stood when he realized it was almost time for his meeting.

Quickly exiting the office he made his way into the council room and looked over to see all of the clan heads except for Tsume Inuzuka sitting and talking amongst themselves.

"Good afternoon gentlemen" he said as he sat behind his desk.

"Hokage-sama" the heads all bowed slightly as they returned the greeting. The door opened and Tsume walked in and quickly took her seat.

"I apologize for being late"

"Not to worry Tsume-san I also just arrived" Hiruzen saw relief go across her face as he finished before he began again.

"As you all know earlier today the academy had their final exam and I am pleased that all of your children have passed." Many of the parents smiled "However after reviewing the final scores and talking to Iruka I have made some changes to the teams."

"But Hokage-sama we all agreed that with so many future clan heads they would be grouped together" Choza Akimichi looked around at his fellow clan heads who nodded in return.

"And I have Choza-san" this calmed the leaders down but they still looked puzzled "I have always allowed you clan leaders to have a say in where your children are placed but there are something's I cannot go against. Unfortunately Kiba Inuzuka and Hiroshi Makoto have the lowest scores in the class, Kiba having low academic and Hiroshi having low physical. I decided that Kiba will be placed on the team with the top male and female of the class because Sasuke Uchiha was the top male."

Tsume let out an annoyed groan as she heard her son was the dead last in the class, she wasn't too angry though as she herself wasn't the best student in her academy days.

"So with this change what will happen to the other teams Hokage-sama" Inoichi was wondering who exactly would be on his daughters team.

"I have made a small change in the three teams to counter this shift and feel it will work well. Choji Akimichi will take Kiba's place on team eight, while he does not have any tracking skills his family techniques will give the team a stronger edge." Choza frowned when he heard this and was going to protest but Hiruzen continued "With Choji on the team they will have a member able to capture their targets after they track them down. That and combined with young Shino's bugs they could hold and drain a target."

Choza stopped and thought about what the Hokage said, it was true that the combined skills of his family techniques and the Aburame bugs would be useful. Still he wanted Choji to be with Shikamaru and Ino because of their family connections.

"I understand it is not what you want Choza-san but I cannot bend tradition just to make a few people happy." Hiruzen spoke with a firm voice to make sure everyone knew these changes were happening and he simply was being polite to let them be aware of it.

"I assume that Naruto Uzumaki will be placed with my son and Ino than Hokage-sama." Shikaku had his eyes closed as he spoke, already piecing everything together.

"Yes, his sealing abilities will help in the capturing of targets and he is able to make shadow clones so he could easily have one or two watching Ino in battle if she uses her family techniques"

"How is he able to use shadow clones, that's a forbidden technique!" Tsume looked shocked at the news and noticed everyone else had similar surprised looks.

"It was in his family scrolls and Naruto has far more chakra than most of the shinobi in the village. The main reasons it Is forbidden is the chakra requirement and the memory back lash, both of which were mentioned in the Uzumaki scroll. Naruto was fully aware of the dangers and avoided them." Hiruzen had to hide his mirth at the councils faces. They all regained their composure quickly and Hiruzen stood.

"Now if that is all I need to finish selecting the best sensei's for the teams." He noticed not all of them were happy with the changes he made but couldn't find fault in the changes. He exited the room and heard the sound of talking amongst the clan leaders but made his way back to his office. Once he entered he sat behind his desk and started writing on pieces of paper, looking up occasionally at the list of teams.

Soon he was finished and stacked all of the papers in a pile but pulled three to the side.

"Crow" an Anbu stepped from the shadows in the corner of his office and kneeled. "Please take these to the Jonin office and have them distributed to the proper shinobi. After that please call in Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi and Kakashi Hatake to my office." the Anbu nodded and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Hiruzen packed his pipe and relaxed in his chair as he mentally prepared for the meeting he was about to have. While Kurenai and Asuma would be happy with their teams he knew Kakashi was going to be annoyed. He had tried his best to be there for Naruto but wasn't able to look at the boy without seeing his sensei. He knew Kakashi was waiting for this chance to make up for all of the lost time and was going to be highly upset with the change in teams. He didn't have to wait long before a knock came at his door, straighting up and putting out his pipe he turned to the door.

"Enter" the door opened and he noticed only two of the people he had asked for. Kurenai was a newly made Jonin with light-skin and a slender build, she has long, black, shoulder-length untamed hair, and very unique eyes that are red in colour, with an additional ring in them. She was wearing a red mesh armour blouse with only the right sleeve visible. Over this was a very broad material which resembles bandages with a pattern on it similar to those of rose thorns. Her hands and upper thighs are also wrapped in bandages.

The second figure was his own son Asuma, he resembled Hiruzen somewhat. He was a tall man, with brown eyes, short, black spiky hair, and beard. His clothing consisted of the standard Konoha ninja uniform with the sleeves rolled up half way, flak jacket, regular shinobi sandals and forehead protector. He also wore the Twelve Guardian Ninja sash that had the kanji for "Fire" marked on it around his waist, a pair of black bangles and bandages wrapped around the arms of his sleeves.

Both walked up to the desk and bowed "Hokage-sama". Hiruzen nodded back and gestured for them each to sit, pulling out their respective papers as they did.

"I have chosen you two to tke the following teams this year" he handed both of them the sheets "As you can see your teams are made up of not only clan members but the future heads of the respective clans. I wanted to make it clear to you that although they are important to the future of this village I do not want you to simply pass them because of this."

" Of course Hokage-sama" Kurenai smiled at the list as she listened to the Hokage, she was not only happy to have her very own team but also Hinata, she had watched over the girl for a few years and had grown quite attached.

"I have a question father" while it was the Hokage he had trouble seeing him more than his father and didn't always remember to show proper respect. "Why did my team change?"

Kurenai looked at Asuma confused, even if the Hokage was his father he shouldn't have known his team before today. Hiruzen though simply sighed.

"Their was a change of plans with the final results of the class and that caused a slight change in the teams but the main idea of these teams stay the same. Kurenai will train a tracking team and you will train a capture and information gathering team." Asuma nodded he was disappointed he wouldn't get the new generation of the Ino–Shika–Cho trio but he had seen Naruto practice occasionally and was more than impressed.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama but how does Asuma know of the teams if you just made them today" Kurenai asked somewhat curious and annoyed.

"Asuma requested to train the new generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and I granted it but as you can see I you know have Choji Akimichi and Asuma was given Naruto Uzumaki."

"May I ask what caused the change?" Asuma asked curiously and he watched as his father rubbed his chin in thought.

"I believe it will be fine for you to know, Kiba Inuzuka was tied for lowest grades in class. His grades in Taijutsu were rather good so I added him to a team of Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno as they were the year's best students. The shift in teammates forced me to change them around so that the general idea of each team could stay the same." Asuma and Kurenai nodded as Hiruzen finished.

"Now if that is all you may leave, be at the academy tomorrow at 8 to meet your teams" the two Jonin stood and bowed before leaving the office. Hiruzen sighed and looked up at the clock on his wall, since he had not said it was important he knew Kakashi would be late. He was somewhat happy about that, he didn't want to have the discussion he was going to have in front of Kurenai and Asuma. He picked up his pipe and lite it, enjoying the tobacco.

Three hours had passed since he had called for the meeting when Hiruzen noticed a presence of chakra gathering. Soon Kakashi appeared in the office, since he had left the Anbu he had changed in appearance. He was a fair-skinned, fit and relatively tall shinobi. He has spiky grey hair and has dark-colored eyes. His left eye has a vertical scar running over it and wore the standard attire of the forces and he began wearing shorter metal-plated gloves. He also wore his forehead protector on a simple blue band, tilted to the left to cover his eye and a mask which obscures the lower-half of his face.

"Sorry I am late Hokage-sama but I ran into an old lady carrying grocery's and had to help her pick them up" Kakashi spoke as he continued to look down at the small orange book in his hands.

"Yes, well here is the team information for you." He pushed the paper to the edge of the desk as Kakashi grabbed it. "Be at the academy at 8 to meet your team"

Kakashi nodded and turned to leave only to stop at the door. While the Anbu guards hadn't seen it, Hiruzen had noticed Kakashi glance at the paper. He snapped his book shut and turned back to the Hokage.

"Sir may I speak with you in private?" an angry edge was on his voice and the Anbu grew tense, wondering what caused the sudden anger.

"Anbu you may wait outside, make sure we are not disturbed except for an emergency." The two men dashed out side and closed the door quickly. Hiruzen reached under his desk and activated a rivacy seal so they would not be disturbed,

"You may speak now Kakashi, no one can hear us"

"What the hell is this" he held up the paper "You told me I could have both Naruto and Sasuke on my team but I only have Sasuke" he was to angry to worry about formalites and Hiruzen over looked it.

"Sasuke and Naruto were almost tied for first place, putting them on a team together would show favoritism to the clan children and I am not going to do that. If one of them had not been the best male student I would have given you both but I will not change a tradition created by my sensei to please you"

"Naruto is sensei's son, I owe it to him to train him to be the very best!"

"And you think no one else is capable of that?" Kakashi flinched at the comment, he didn't mean to say no one was capable but Hiruzen held up a hand before he could talk.

"I understand your view Kakashi, I really do but Minato would agree with me if he were in my place as he should be. I have assigned Naruto to Asuma, with his skills in blades he will be able to teach Naruto more than you could. I promise you though, once he makes Chunin I will assign you on missions together so you can have some contact with him." Kakashi sighed and ran his hand through his hair, he really wanted to teach Naruto but after hearing what the Hokage said he knew Hiruzen was right. He would need to make a bond with Naruto in a different way later on in his career, for now he would help Sasuke.

"Very well Hokage-sama" Hiruzen could tell from the tone Kakashi was still upset but had accepted his change.

"I am sorry Kakashi but things cannot always be as we wish." Kakashi nodded at the Hokage before he turned to leave. He needed to re think his team strategy and calm his mind.

**================ Underneath Konoha ================**

Danzo sat at his desk and looked at the report in front of him; his root agents had spied on the academy exams and given him a detailed report about all of the students. He was sorely disappointed in the academy standards, to many of these students should not be passed. He wasn't even comparing them to his high standards but the education he had as a child, he shook his head and moved picked up two files.

"_Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha"_ he had been keeping his eyes on the boys ever since the massacre and was quite happy with their progress. Both were easily at a high Genin level with some low chunin skills in certain fields, not to mention Sasuke had his Sharingan already and Naruto was at an unimaginable level of fuinjutsu.

"Wolf" a Root operative appeared before him on his knee.

"Hai Danzo-sama"

"Remove your mask and find Naruto Uzumaki, I want you to deliver this to him. Return to me with his answer." Danzo finished writing on a scroll and tossed it to his operative. The man nodded and removed his cloak and mask, he wore the standard uniform of a Konoha Jonin. His face was youthful, looking no more than twenty years old and he had short spikey black hair with olive green eyes.

"Right away Danzo-sama" the man gave a quick bow and disappeared from the room.

**================== Ichiraku Ramen ================**

Naruto slurped down yet another bowl of ramen happily as Hayate and Yugao talked to Ayame. After passing the test Naruto had run outside and found Sasuke waiting for him, the two then went to Naruto's home and showed Yugao and Hayate that they had passed the test. The two Jonin were happy for them and offered to treat them to anything they wanted to eat, Naruto naturally screamed for ramen and before anyone could argue he was rushing through the trees towards the stand. The others sighed and followed after him only to arrive at the stand with him halfway through his second bowl

"It's always ramen with you" Sasuke shook his head as he slowly worked on his bowl.

"Ramen is the food of the gods, it must be consumed as much as possible to strengthen the body" his words flowed out sagely as he spoke but the others chuckled at his attitude.

"Thanks right my boy, never let anyone tell you differently" Teuchi came out from the kitchen stirring a bowl and grinning.

"Please don't encourage him Teuchi-san" Sasuke sighed at the older man, he and Ayame were the few who not only treated Naruto normally but he himself. The first time he gave Teuchi attitude he was wacked over the head with a ladle, oddly enough that gained the man Sasuke's resect.

"Just give it up Sasuke, you should know better than to try" Hayate grinned at the boy as he himself finished his ramen. Sasuke rolled his eyes and let out a sigh, why did his friend have to be such an idiot sometimes.

"Excuse me Uzumaki-san" Naruto and company all turned around to see a man in Konoha shinobi gear stading behind them.

"Yes?" Naruto slurped up the last of his fifth bowl before he spoke.

"I have a message for you" the man pulled out a scroll and handed it to Naruto than stepped back and waited. Hayate and Yugao carefully watched the man, his eyes never left Naruto but they saw no sense of hatred or anger just empty eyes waiting and observing.

Naruto unrolled the scroll and started to read the contents.

"_Dear Mr. Uzumaki,_

_I wish to request a meeting between myself and you at five this afternoon at your compound. Please relay your answer to the messenger who delivered this scroll._

_Sincerely_

_Danzo Shimura_

_Village Elder_

Sasuke looked over Naruto's shoulder and cocked an eyebrow at the scroll, wondering what one of the village elders wanted with Naruto.

"Please tell Danzo-san that I will be waiting for him." Hayate and Yugao's eyebrows rose when Naruto mentioned Danzo's name but the messenger nodded and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Naruto, what did that message say" Hayate spoke with a worried and curious edge to his voice. He knew of Danzo and was worried what he wanted Naruto for. Yugao was also worried and knew she needed to speak to the Hokage about this.

"Danzo-san wanted to meet with me today, he didn't mention what but I figure one of the village elders probably had something important to discuss." Naruto absently answered while he tried to think about what Danzo could want. He held no love for any of the village but he couldn't ever remember the elders every giving him trouble or even helping him. Not wanting to worry to much he hopped from the stool and started to head home.

"Well I'm going to go clean up the house a bit, Danzo-san said he would arrive at five so I want the house to look presentable" Sasuke waved over his shoulder, as he had returned to his ramen after the messenger left. Yugao and Hayate waved but after Naruto left the two stood and headed out towards the tower to inform the Hokage.

**================ Hokage Office ====================**

Hiruzen sat at his desk enjoying a rare moment of peace when a knock came at his door.

"_Of course" _he sighed and straightened himself in his chair. "Enter"

Hayate and Yugao walked into the office and gave a quick bow before Hayate cleared his throat.

"Hokage-sama, we felt it important to let you know that Danzo has requested a meeting with Naruto." Hiruzen's eyes widened slightly but he quickly recovered and thought about what he heard. Hayate and Yugao waited for an order as Hiruzen puffed on his pipe.

"I see, thank you for informing me. Is that all?" the duo looked slightly shocked and Yugao stepped forward.

"Um Hokage-sama are you not worried?" she was confused by his calm attitude.

"If someone wishes to speak with Naruto-kun it is his business not mine." Hiruzen seemed calm on the outside but inside he was wondering what Danzo was planning. Hayate and Yugao exchanged looks but nodded and turned to leave the office.

**============== Uzumaki Compound ==================**

Danzo made his way to the gate at the front of the compound and examined it carefully. He noticed the intercom and pushed the button with his cane.

"Yes?" a soft voice came from the device and Danzo assumed it was Naruto.

"It is Danzo Shimura, I am here for a meeting." He waited a moment and a seal glowed on the gate doors before they opened. Danzo made a note to ask about that seal for his own use and strolled down the path towards the house. He was impressed with the house, it was small but seemed well built and the landscape was perfect for both look and use. He reached the main door and knocked on it with the head of his cane.

"Hello Danzo-san, please come in" Naruto opened the door and gestured for Danzo to enter. He had changed from his normal clothes into a dark blue kimono with a red sash and the Uzumaki symbol on the back of it. Danzo nodded and walked into the room and looked around at the light décor Naruto had.

"Please follow me to the study, I feel it will be more appropriate for our meeting" Danzo nodded and followed the boy down the hall to a pair of sliding doors, opening it it revealed a library with multiple bookcases full of scrolls. A large oak desk sat at the end of the room with the Uzumaki symbol carved in it, two leather chairs sat in front of the desk.

"Please have a seat Danzo-san, would you like anything?" Naruto walked around the desk and sat as he spoke. Danzo shook his head and took a seat.

"No I am fine" he relaxed in the chair and placed his cane across his lap. "I am sure you are curious as to why I am here." Naruto studied the man and nodded his head.

"I have come for different reasons but the first of which is to hear your opinion of the village. We both know of how you were treated because of the Kyubi and I am curious as to how you see our village"

"Why now? I learned of that years ago" Danzo nodded but never let his eye leave Naruto.

"Yes but until you became a shinobi you posed little threat, now if you harbor ill will to the village you could cause problems" Danzo kept his voice calm but Naruto understood his meaning.

"I promise you Danzo-san I do not wish for any harm to befall Konoha and will protect it." Naruto leaned forward and placed his chin on his hands "That being said I could care less about any of the civilians or their problems in the village."

Danzo studied Naruto for a few moments; he could see that Naruto was sincere in his feelings.

"I see, I cannot blame you but I hope, with time, your feelings will change." He noticed Naruto roll his eyes but continued on "Another reason I have come here today is to offer my services."

"What services?" Naruto asked with a confused look while Danzo chuckled.

"As you know I am one of the village elders, as such I have some pull not just with the Shinobi council but also the Civilian side. If you ever need any help with either I would like you to know I am willing to help."

"What's in it for you?" Naruto may only be a teenager but he was aware nothing was that easy, especially in a hidden village. Danzo smirked started to rub his bad arm.

"During the second shinobi war I was the leader of a strike force sent to deal with a resupply depot, I lead a platoon of thirty Konoha shinobi out and split them into two teams. After destroying the depot we went to meet up with the other team but were ambushed by a group of Iwa shinobi. We fought bravely but soon everyone but myself was dead and I had lost use of my right arm." Danzo looked down at his arm than back to Naruto "I would have died that day had one kunoichi not arrived to slay the remaining men and rush me to a medic."

"Who was it" Naruto was lost in the story and hadn't realized he was leaning forward on the desk.

"Your mother Kushina Uzumaki" Naruto slipped on the desk and looked at Danzo with wide eyes "Yes, I never did repay your mother so I offer my services to you."

Naruto stared at Danzo a long time before he finally spoke.

"Thank you for the offer Danzo-san, if I need help I will be sure to come to you" Danzo nodded and stood from his seat.

"Thank you for meeting with me today, I hope you enjoy your team and wish you good luck." Naruto stood and walked Danzo to the door before wishing him a good day. Danzo made his way out of the compound smiling in his head, everything he told Naruto was true and would help him get the boy on his side in the future.


	8. Chapter 8

"Speaking"

"_Thoughts"_

"**Jutsu"**

"**Demon"**

"_Writing"_

**I do not own Naruto or Gamaran.**

**Killa Bee 8: There will be some more interactions with Danzo yes but not a whole lot.**

**================ Academy, Konoha ================**

Naruto let out a sigh as he looked up at the ceiling, he had been in the classroom for half an hour now and Iruka still hadn't shown up to tell them about their teams. He looked around the room and saw almost all of his classmates had passed the exam, only some civilian children weren't present. Everyone seemed excited and were talking to one another about how great being a shinobi will be. Naruto chuckled at everyone's excitement and looked over to see Sasuke looking out the window, trying his best to ignore Sakura, Ino and the other girl's questions. He shook his head at the sight, he wondered when the girls were going to take the hint he wasn't interested in them.

"_Course if he ignores all these girls he's never going to revive his clan"_ Naruto thought as he looked back up to the ceiling.

"Alright everyone settle down" he looked down at Iruka as he walked in holding a folder. The other students quickly shut up and watched as Iruka walked to the front of the class and stood behind a podium. "Before I tell you who is on your team I want to announce the top male and female of this graduating class."

He opened the folder and acted like he was reading to build suspense. He noticed none of the males looked concerned figuring it was obviously Sasuke or Naruto, the girls however where on the edges of their seats.

"They are Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno"

"That's impossible!"

"No way!"

"Yes eat that Ino-pig!"

Iruka shook his head as all the girls and cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Shut up Forehead"

"Don't get mad at me cause you're too dumb to get Sasuke-kun's attention"

Iruka cleared his throat louder this time to get their attention.

"Oh please he only notices you because he can't miss your giant head"

"Sit down and shut up" Iruka yelled as he used his big head jutsu to gain the girls attention. Both Ino and Sakura quickly sat down and shut up as Iruka glared at them.

"Now as I was saying. While those two were the top two I want to say that I am very proud of all of you, I have watched you grow into fine shinobi and hope you will all do great things in the future." The students all smiled and looked excited as he spoke. "Now I will announce the teams" He opened up the folder and pulled out a sheet of paper "Team One will be…."

Naruto zoned out and started looking around the room at all of the students. He knew from history lessons that teams are made to help balance each other out so he and Sasuke wouldn't be on a team. He wouldn't mind being on a team with any of the other clan kids, they were nice to him and none of their parents cared about his tenant but if he was with any of the civilian children he might get not have a good experience.

"Team Seven Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno"

"NOOOO!"

"Yes true love conquers all!"

Sasukes head slammed to the desk and Naruto heard him muttering curses, causeing the blonde to laugh.

"And Kiba Inuzuka, your Jounin Sensei is Kakashi Hatake. Team Eight Choji Akimichi, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuga, your Jonin Sensei is Kurenai Yuhi. Team Nine is still active so Team Ten will be Shikamaru Nara, Naruto Uzumaki and Ino Yamanaka, your Jonin Sensei is Asuma Sarutobi"

Naruto looked over at the sleeping form of Shikamaru and then over his shoulder at Ino, who was cursing at Sakura and her luck.

"_Well Shikamaru is pretty cool as long as I can keep him awake and Ino's okay I guess. Hopefully she won't bug me all the time for information on Sasuke" _

"Alright everyone your Jonin Sensei will be here soon. Again it was a pleasure teaching all of you and I can't wait to see what you all will accomplish." He smiled at all of the students and bowed before leaving the room. Naruto smiled as the man left, even though they had a difficult start he had grown to like Iruka as a teacher.

"Please kill me now" the blonde turned to see his friend face down on the desk and holding a kunai to his friend.

"Come on it won't be that bad." Sasuke sat up and looked at the boy with an "Are you serious" look. He then turned and looked at Sakura, who was still laughing at Ino and then back at Naruto.

"Okay, well ummm ya….It was a pleasure knowing you" he patted his friend on the shoulder, earning a glare from his raven haired friend. Before Sasuke could speak the classroom door opened and several Shinobi walked into the room, most were wearing the standard Konoha uniform with a few changes to make it their own look. Naruto recognized Asuma as soon as the man walked in, while they had never meet he had seen pictures of him at the Hokage office.

The students waited as each Jounin called out their teams in numerical order and walked out with them. Naruto also couldn't help but notice Team eights sensei and had to admit he was a little jealous as to not having a beautiful sensei like her.

"Team Ten your with me" Naruto was broken from his thoughts as he stood up with Ino and Shikamaru.

"Hey where's our sensei?" Sakura looked around and realized they were the only ones left and no other Jounin were in the room.

"Don't worry I'm sure he will be along soon" Asuma said but everyone noticed him trying to suppress a laugh and became confused as to why that was funny.

"I'll see you later I guess" the blonde told his friend and headed after his sensei.

"Hn" was the response as the boy looked back out the window.

Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru quietly followed behind their sensei as they walked along the streets towards the outskirts of the village. Asuma and Naruto noticed the looks people gave them and even heard some whispering about why the demon was with the thirds son. Asuma watched out the corner of his eye to gauge Naruto's reaction and was happy the boy didn't pay it any mind. He also waited to see if Ino and Shikamaru were noticing it too, he didn't want to explain why it was happening and was glad neither seemed to notice.

Soon the group made it to training ground ten and Asuma sat down and leaned against a tree while the trio of students all sat in front of him. He pulled out a cigarette and lite it before turning to the students.

"Alright, why don't we get to know each other a little better. I'm sure you know each other but why don't you tell me things you like, dislike and what you hope to accomplish in life. I'll go first I enjoy shogi and taking strolls around the village I dislike rainy days and I one day hope to have a family. Alright who wants to go next?"

"I will" Ino's hand shot up "My name is Ino I like flowers and Sasuke-kun, dislike forehead and bug. My dream is to become Mrs. Sasuke Uchiha" she finished with a dreamy look in her eye as she envisioned her future. Naruto, Shikamaru and Asuma shook their heads and Asuma looked to Naruto.

"My name is Naruto, I like reading, ramen and training, I dislike people who judge others before they get to know them. I hope to one day restore my clan to its former glory" Asuma nodded, well aware of what Naruto meant about those people while Ino and Shikamaru gave him odd looks.

"Troublesome but I guess it's my turn. My name is Shikamaru, I like shogi and cloud watching, I dislike troublesome things. I want to be an average shinobi meet an average women and have two kids one boy one girl." He closed his eyes and laid back as he finished talking and Naruto stared at him.

"I thought you said women were to troublesome to both with?"

"What!" Ino glared at the boy as he let out a groan.

"Troublesome blondes" he rolled to his side and covered his ears as Ino got up and prepared to beat him. Luckily for Shikamaru Asuma grabbed hold of her.

"Alright calm down Ino, there will be plenty of time to kill Shikamaru after you all pass the test" that statement caused all of them to look at him but Ino spoke up.

"What test? I thought we were already a team?" Asuma let her go and took a drag on his cigarette.

"Actually this is just a possible team, every one of the teams have to pass a test from there Jounin sensei's to see if they have what it takes to be a team. If you fail you have to either quit the shinobi life or go take extra classes at the academy to try again."

"What, that's unfair" Ino wined as Naruto and Shikamaru nodded along, both not wanting to go back for another year of school.

"If you don't like it than I guess you'll just have to pass won't you." He chuckled when he saw the fire in her eyes. "Alright than you have two task's to accomplish, first you have to capture me and then you have to figure out what my shinobi I.D. number is. The rules are no leaving the training ground." He pulled out his cigarette and dropped it to the ground. "Any questions?"

"Can we go all out?" Ino looked at Naruto and noticed he looked serious; it made her wonder what he meant. Shikamaru though knew Naruto and Sasuke were stronger than they let on at the academy but he had always wondered how much. Asuma however smirked and reached behind his back and pulled out two trench knives.

"You better" Naruto broke out into a fox like grin and jumped to his feet before holding out his arm and unsealing his Bokken while sealing his katana at the same time. The others looked impressed at his quick actions but only Asuma realized how impressive that really was. Naruto took advantage of Asumas moment of interest and jumped at him swinging his Bokken at Asuma's side.

"I never said go" he dropped his arm down and blocked the strike but was surprised with how heavy it was. He pushed Naruto back and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Naruto what was that?" the blonde turned to see Ino looking at him with wide eyes.

"Troublesome blondes, we can ask questions later Ino. We need to think of a plan to find and capture Asuma Sensei." Shikamaru stood up and brushed the dirt of his clothes.

"Wow Shikamaru never thought I would hear you opting to do work." Naruto chuckled as he finished, earning a smirk for the boy.

"If I don't my mother will yell at me and that's to troublesome."

"So what do we do then?" Ino stood beside the boys and looked at the two of them.

"Obviously he is more skilled then all of us but I doubt he's going to go all out. My guess is that if we create a good enough plan he will let us capture him, no point in making the second condition if he wasn't going to give us the chance to capture him." The others nodded along to Shikamaru's theory. Meanwhile Asuma listened from the top of one of the nearby trees.

"_I knew he was smarter than he let on to be at the academy, I'll go and give them a chance to come up with a plan."_ He leapt from his spot and made his way deeper into the forest.

"So what should we do?" Ino asked again annoyed he didn't answer the first time. Shikamaru knelt down and put his hands In a circle in front of him and closed his eyes, Ino narrowed her eyes and was about to yell at him but Naruto held his hand up to stop her. He guessed Shikamaru was thinking and didn't want Ino to disturb him.

"Naruto do you know any seals that we can use to trap him with?" he asked opening his eyes.

"Yup, I know can make some binding seals for when we get him and can also perform a couple barrier jutsu that can trap him in a space" Ino again looked surprised but Shikamaru nodded.

"Okay, Ino and myself are not that great at close combat and judging from Sensei's weapons he is. Naruto you will have to engage him and force him towards us, Ino will than draw his attention with projectiles. I'll use my Kagemane no Jutsu to catch him while he avoids you guys, after we catch him Naruto will bind him and Ino will search his mind." He looked and got a firm nod from both, Naruto than unsealed a scroll from his wrist and unrolled it. He again unsealed a set of brushes ink holders and some blank seal tags, quickly he went about writing on them and paid no mind to the watching eyes of Ino and Shikamaru.

"These are chakra suppression tags, once applied to a source with chakra it blocks them from using it. These will only last an hour but will keep Sensei from using any chakra." He passed Ino and Shikamaru two each. He sealed up everything and then looked to the woods. "Shall we?" Ino and Shikamaru grinned and the three dashed into the woods.

Soon Shikamaru stopped and took a position in a bush while Ino climb up into a tree, Naruto made a mental note to show them the tree climbing exercise but focused as he appeared in a clearing with Asuma leaning against a tree and smoking.

"What took you so long?" he asked as smoke flowed out his nose.

"Well it takes some time to get Shikamaru moving and Ino to stop talking" Naruto walked into the clearing and stood relaxed with his Bokken aimed at the ground.

"True but they're not so bad right?" Asuma flicked his cigarette to the side.

"Will see but it's just you and I right now Sensei. Let's dance" Naruto shot forward and went for an overhead strike at Asuma but the man brought up his trench knives and blocked it. He threw out a kick to knock Naruto away but the blonde saw it coming and jumped back on his own. He surged forward again and tried to stab Asuma but he easily moved out of the way, Naruto kept on though and strike after strike forced Asuma to move backwards.

"_So he's trying to lure me somewhere, Ino and Shikamaru must be waiting back the way he came from. So what if I do this?" _Asuma dodged another strike but the next hit him, surprising Naruto until Asuma turned into cloud of smoke and a tree branch lay on the ground. The boy quickly looked around and just barley brought up his weapon to block a strike from Asuma. Naruto let out an annoyed groan as he started to lose in the pushing contest and jumped back.

"Looks like I'm not going to beat you alone sensei" Naruto smirked as he spoke and brought his hands together.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"** three more Naruto's appeared in the field and four gave Asuma a fox like grin. Asuma himself chuckled and looked at the four, he noticed the seal and knew these were shadow clones so they would be able to attack. No sooner had he gotten ready did two of the Naruto's rush at him while the other two moved around the side. Easily blocked the first strike but as he went to attack the clone it was blocked by the other and the first clone went to attack again. Asuma jumped back and then quickly rolled to the side as a third Naruto attacked from behind. He gained his footing and stuck both arms out to block two strikes from the Naruto's then jumped back as the third tried to strike his head. He stood and looked carefully as the three stood across from him and then realized there were only three. Instinct alone saved him as he brought up his left arm before it was struck hard by a Bokken, he jumped to the side as it hit to avoid the full force but felt like his arm was definitely bruised.

"So you can walk on tree's, very good I gotta say I didn't expect that." Asuma shook his head at the blonde as Naruto smiled.

"Thanks Sensei but it's not over yet, let's get him boys" the other three let out a cry and charged Asuma each moving to strike. Still feeling the sting from the last attack Asuma jumped back and into the woods to avoid the boy but soon his instincts went off again and he moved to the side as Kunai hit where he was.

"_Damn I was so focused on Naruto I forgot they were waiting for me." _He looked up and saw Ino crouched in a tree preparing to throw more but stopped when she saw four of them. Asuma took advantage and jumped up and grabbed Ino holding a blade to her.

"Well Naruto, dispel those clones and put the Bokken away." Naruto looked up and let out a sigh, while Asuma wasn't going to hurt her he knew what he had to do. The three clones disappeared in a smoke and he sealed his Bokken.

"Good now-"

"**Kagemane no Jutsu"** Asuma suddenly felt very stiff then suddenly his arms flew open and Ino fell to the branch.

"Naruto bind him." Naruto quickly jumped to the tree and pulled out a kunai and removed the Jounin's flak jacket before cutting his shirt off. Ino blushed at the sight of the man and quickly turned while Naruto unsealed his ink and quickly wrote over Asuma's torso and arms. After a few minutes he was done and went through some hand seals.

"**Eternal Binding Jutsu" **everyone watched as the kanji glowed red and the Asuma's arms flew up and crossed his chest touching each shoulder. Shikamaru was surprised when his arms did the same and but as he stopped flowing chakra his arms fell. Shikamaru stood and walked to the others as Naruto grabbed Asuma and jumped to the ground with Ino behind him.

"Well you caught me congrats but you still have to get my I.D. number" he said with a chuckle, still surprised they caught him so quickly.

"Alright Ino your up." Naruto turned to the girl; she smiled and nodded before walking over to Asuma.

"**Shindenshin no Jutsu" **she closed her eyes and placed her hand on his head after she finished, Naruto and Shikamaru waited and after ten minutes her eyes opened and she fell to the ground exhausted. The boys waited for a minute before Naruto approached her.

"Did you get it?"

"No, he kept thinking of random numbers and thoughts, I couldn't get get through all of it." She looked upset as she talked, Naruto guessed she thought she was better then she was.

"Not easy on someone who isn't letting you in their mind is it?" Asuma chuckled when he saw Ino's glare. "Well what are you going to do now"

Naruto turned to Shikamaru as Ino growled and started to curse under her breath at Asuma. Shikamaru let out a sigh and thought about their options, he doubted Naruto and Ino knew an interrogation techniques. He looked up and saw an evil grin on Naruto's face and suddenly grew a little afraid.

"Well Asuma Sensei I think you should tell us or else all those pictures of you doing perverted things will be released" everyone grew quiet at the comment and Asuma looked at Naruto.

"What are you talking about?" he was very nervous right now.

"Naruto why the hell do have pictures of Asuma Sensei doing perverted things!?" Ino was blushing deeply, Shikamaru to was completely confused.

"Oh I don't have any but a simple Henge and camera could easily change that" his mischievous grin never left his face and it was only matched by Ino and Shikamaru as they caught on.

'I said you can't leave the training ground" a small amount of fear was in his voice at the idea. While he doubted many people would believe such photo's he didn't want to take a chance.

"And we won't but if we happen to fail, well then I've got no reason not to do it" Asuma's eyes flew open and swet poured down his face.

"Okay! Okay, you pass" he looked up at them with a pleading look.

"I guess it's good to have troublesome blondes sometimes" Shikamaru smirked but was happy.

"What was the Shikamaru?" Ino glared at the boy and he quickly looked away.

"This is all nice and good but do you think you could let me go now Naruto" Asuma flipped onto his feet and stood by the blonde. Naruto nodded and went through the hand seals to release the binding. Once free Asuma put his flak jacket on so to cover himself some. "Thank you, now congratulations on passing, you are officially Genin of Konoha."

Ino cheered while Naruto smiled big and Shikamaru muttered something about being troublesome but smile none the less.

"Now why don't you guys go ahead to Yakiniku Q and ill meet you after I go and get myself a new shirt." Ino and Shikamaru nodded but Naruto looked hesitant.

"Ah sorry Sensei but I made plans for dinner already" he scratched the back of his head and looked apologetic but Asuma could tell the real reason. He simple nodded and let it go, he would have a talk with Naruto later and iron everything out.

"No problem, meet us tomorrow at eight here for training" the blonde nodded and the three headed back towards the village. Asuma pulled out a cigarette and lit it, he liked the team so far if he could get Shikamaru motivated and Ino out of her fan girl attitude they could easily become better than their fathers. Naruto would take some thinking about, he had the motivation but he would have to figure ways to keep him interested in the team and not try to alienate himself from them because of their attitudes. Sighing he turned to his house and began jumping through the trees, making sure to stay hidden so no one saw him.


End file.
